Bangladesh Bans Polythene Luggage Once more, Sparking Hopes for the Eco-Pleasant Sonali Bag’ — World Points
DHAKA, Nov 27 (IPS) – After Bangladesh’s interim authorities banned polyethene baggage, a brand new sense of hope has emerged for the Sonali bag—a jute-based, eco-friendly various developed in 2017 by Bangladeshi scientist Dr. Mubarak Ahmed Khan. Sonali bag, or the golden bag, is known as after the golden fiber of jute from which it’s made.
Regardless of its guarantees, the undertaking has struggled to make vital progress on account of a scarcity of funding. Nevertheless, following the announcement of the polythene bag ban, Mubarak is now going through stress to produce his Sonali bag to a market anticipating sustainable options.
“For the reason that authorities banned polythene baggage, we now have confronted immense stress of orders that we can not meet—persons are coming in with requests at an awesome charge,” Mubarak Ahmed Khan informed the IPS.
The newest ban, which got here into impact on October 1 for superstores and conventional markets on November 1, isn’t the primary time Bangladesh has imposed a ban on polythene baggage.
In 2002, the nation grew to become the primary on this planet to outlaw them, as plastic waste was severely clogging metropolis drainage programs and exacerbating its waterlogging disaster, with Dhaka alone consuming an estimated 410 million polybags every month. However the ban steadily misplaced effectiveness through the years, largely on account of a scarcity of reasonably priced and sensible options and insufficient enforcement from regulatory authorities.
Polyethene baggage, though cheaper, are dangerous to the atmosphere as they’re non-biodegradable and their decomposition takes at the least 400 years. Sonali Bag as a substitute, then again, is considered a game-changer as a result of it’s biodegradable, able to decomposing in three months.
The ban comes because the UN Plastics Treaty Negotiations are underway in Busan, South Korea. The UN Atmosphere Programme estimates that around the globe, a million plastic bottles are bought each minute.
“In complete, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use functions—used simply as soon as after which thrown away.”
With out an settlement, the OECD estimates that annual plastic manufacturing, use, and waste are predicted to extend by 70 p.c in 2040 in comparison with 2020. This on a planet already choking on plastic waste.
The talks have up to now stalled over a disagreement over how you can handle waste, with some nations favouring introducing a cap on plastic manufacturing and others supporting circularity with use, reuse, and recycling as the primary targets.
The plastics treaty talks will run from 25 November 2024 to 1 December 2024.
Nevertheless, regardless of its environmental advantages and better calls for, in Bangladesh the Sonali Bag undertaking nonetheless stays throughout the pilot section.
A late begin for funding disaster
After Mubarak’s invention made headlines, the nation’s state-owned Bangladesh Jute Mills Company launched a pilot undertaking, establishing a jute-polymer unit on the Latif Bawani Jute Mill to supply Sonali Bag.
Mubarak stated they’ve been asking for presidency funds, because the undertaking has been working beneath the Ministry of Textiles and Jute. Nevertheless, the essential funding that stored the pilot undertaking working expired final December, and the earlier authorities—which was toppled in August in a mass rebellion—had discontinued the undertaking.
“There had been assurances that we would obtain Tk100 crore (about USD 8 million) in funding from the federal government by July. However then got here political unrest and a change in authorities,” Mubarak stated.
After the brand new authorities took cost, they renewed the pledges to fund the Sonali Bag undertaking.
“The interim authorities informed us that we’ll get the cash in January. If that occurs, we will produce 5 tons of baggage per day,” Mubarak stated. “5 tons will not be loads, however it would give us the possibility to show our work to non-public buyers, boosting their confidence to have interaction with us.”
Based on Mubarak, one kilogram of Sonali baggage quantities to round 100 items of small baggage. Based mostly on this estimate, 5 tons might produce round 15 million baggage per 30 days.
Bangladesh’s present adviser to the Ministry of Textiles and Jute, Md. Sakhawat Hossain, informed IPS that they’re critically contemplating funding the Sonali Bag undertaking this January, though he acknowledged that his ministry is at present going through a funding disaster.
“The work will start in full scale after the fund is supplied,” Sakhawat Hossain stated. When requested if Mubarak would obtain the funds by January, he replied, “We hope so.”
A ban with out satisfactory options at hand
Mubarak Ahmed Khan regards the federal government’s choice to ban polythene baggage as a “praiseworthy” initiative. Nevertheless, he emphasised that sustainable and reasonably priced options to the polythene baggage ought to come quickly.
Mubarak shouldn’t be alone in his issues. Sharif Jamil, founding father of Waterkeepers Bangladesh, a company devoted to defending water our bodies, shares skepticism concerning the effectiveness of the ban this time, citing the shortage of sustainable options available in the market.
“The announcement of this ban is a crucial and well timed step. Nevertheless, it should even be famous that our earlier ban was not enforced. With out addressing the underlying points that led to nonenforcement of the earlier ban, the brand new polythene ban is not going to resolve the prevailing issues. It’s essential to deal with the challenges that allowed polythene to stay available in the market,” Sharif Jamil informed IPS.
“For those who don’t present folks with an alternate and easily take away polythene from the markets, the ban gained’t be efficient,” he added.
Sharif famous that the prevailing options available in the market will not be reasonably priced, with some promoting various jute baggage at Tk25 in supermarkets, whereas polythene baggage are sometimes provided at a value that’s basically free.
“Alternate options have to be extra reasonably priced and accessible to the general public,” he stated.
Mubarak acknowledged that his Sonali bag at present prices Tk10 per piece, however he anticipates decreasing the value with elevated manufacturing and demand.
The pursuit of competitors in sustainable options
Sharif Jamil, nevertheless, desires competitors within the sustainable options market.
“It isn’t solely about incentivizing Dr. Mubarak’s undertaking,” Sharif stated.
This know-how must be incentivized and acknowledged, however the authorities additionally has to make sure two different issues, he stated.
“If the federal government could make it accessible to folks at a cheaper price, it would attain them. Secondly, if the choice stays solely with Mubarak, it would create a monopoly once more,” he stated.
It should endure competitors, he really useful. Bangladesh has a contest fee to make sure that different current sustainable inexperienced options in the marketplace are additionally incentivized and acknowledged.
“In addition to facilitating and upgrading Mubarak’s undertaking, the federal government ought to guarantee truthful competitors so that folks can entry it at a cheaper price,” he added.
For the sake of atmosphere
Adviser Shakhawat Hossain stated that they’re optimistic concerning the success of Sonali Bag.
“Already the ambassadors of varied nations are assembly me about this. Some shopping for homes too have been created for this. It appears will probably be a sustainable improvement,” he stated.
Mubarak stated that in the event that they get the funding quickly, Sonali Bag may have a market not solely in Bangladesh however everywhere in the world.
He stated the non-public buyers ought to come ahead not simply because the federal government has banned polythene baggage, however out of an ethical obligation to handle the damaging affect these baggage have on the atmosphere.
“With this, I consider we are able to create a polythene-free atmosphere,” Mubarak stated, acknowledging, “It isn’t straightforward to introduce this to the market solely as a result of it’s a new product. We’re up towards an USD 3.5 trillion single-use plastic market.”
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