Ban works partially due to lack of ample alternatives

The government's ban on polythene bags is partially in force, as the item is still available in kitchen markets mainly due to lack of pre-assessment, policy gap and cost-effective alternatives.
The Ministry of Environment conducted 185 mobile court drives in November against production, sale, supply and marketing of non-biodegradable polythene, and fined Tk 2.37 million from 377 establishments.
In addition, approximately 46,262 kg of banned polythene was seized. Utility connections of four polythene manufacturing factories were disconnected and units sealed.
However, those drives have not stopped the informal production units and shoppers. Over 300 informal factories in Dhaka and other parts of the country are still producing polythene bags.
Customers are still given these bags while purchasing their daily commodities from the kitchen markets. Dhaka city and its surrounding areas consume about 220 million polythene bags.
Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, an environment expert and Professor of Stamford University, told the FE that there is no big difference between when the country first banned polythene bags in 2002 and the present time. The situation prevails due to lack of pre-assessment and preparation for alternatives.
"If we don't ensure ample cost-effective alternatives in the market, polythene bag production and use will continue."
There is a huge gap between the supply and demand of cotton bags in the market. However, it is not a big challenge to meet the demand for cotton bags, he noted.
"Being the world's second largest exporter of fashion goods, the scarcity of cotton bags in the market sounds odd. The government can sit with the RMG leaders and their associations to solve the problem."
With their help, the government can provide two cotton bags each to five million households, he suggested, adding that the government and the families have to focus on reusing and recycling cotton bags to meet the goal of eliminating polythene bags from the market.
Meanwhile, there are allegations that some influential businesses in the plastic sector are influencing the market. They do not want the ban to take effect, so that polythene bags survive.
"The government will have to sit with them to tackle the situation," he added.
Meanwhile, the demand for polythene bag alternatives sees a further push following the recent ban. But, the progress of providing alternatives, including the commercial production of Sonali bag - a biodegradable bag made of jute polymer, remains a far cry.
The commercial production of Sonali bag is stuck mainly due to slow progress in releasing funds and formulating necessary policy for its commercial production.
In January this year, the then government announced to allocate Tk 1.0 billion to scientist Mubarak Ahmad Khan, inventor of the bag, for further development of the item for mass production.
Mr Khan, a scientific adviser at the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), told the FE on Thursday that he does not have any update regarding the funding.
Ministry of Textiles and Jute Secretary Md. Abdur Rauf told the FE on Thursday that they are working on observations, forwarded by the Planning Commission to release the fund.
"Once the observations on the Sonali bag project are crosschecked, we can forward the issue to the Planning Commission for releasing the fund."
The ministry has sat with the producers of jute bags and shop owners several times after the government imposed the ban on polythene bags. They are struggling to fix the costs and prices of alternative jute bags, according to him.
"Since we sit with the producers, the price of jute sees a hike in the open market, which pushes prices of jute bags upward. This is a barrier."
He, however, claimed that there is no pressure from any industries to discourage use of polythene bag alternatives.
Tapan Kumar Biswas, additional secretary and chair of the ministry's monitoring committee concerned, told the FE that they are all determined and prepared to properly execute the ban on polythene bags.
But he believed that their efforts alone cannot achieve the goal until people are aware of the non-environment-friendly item.
"Public awareness against polythene bags is increasing, and it's a gradual improvement. We're conducting awareness campaigns apart from regular drives in the markets against polybags."
Urging people not to use polythene bags, he suggested adopting eco-friendly alternatives.
"We have started drives in the polythene bag sources (production units). We don't see polythene bags in super shops now, as these shops have managed eco-friendly alternatives."
He admitted that slow progress in providing polythene bag alternatives to the market is obstructing the government's move to ban polythene bags.
"It'll take three to four more months to fully execute the ban and eradicate polythene bags from the kitchen markets."
"We are having dialogues with the Ministry of Textiles and Jute and the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC). They are working to supply alternatives apart from encouraging entrepreneurs to come up with cost-effective alternatives in the market," he added.

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