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Bangladesh should undertake long-term plans to establish large scale plastic recycling and organic waste composting facilities to cope with the future growth of waste generation, suggested a new study revealed yesterday.
Solid wastes generated here comprise mostly organic materials with low calorific values, said the study on “Current Scenario of Circular Economy in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects”.
Circular economies can actually be built by Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), said Assistant Prof Mohammad Sujauddin of North South University’s environmental science and management department.
He presented a keynote paper on the study at a seminar on the topic organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in Dhaka.
Regenerative by design to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources, a circular economy eliminates waste and pollution, circulates products and materials (at their highest value) and regenerates nature.
The resilient systems can be created in special economic zones through strict policy enforcement by the government, mainly command and control in the input, processing and output for each industry, said Sujauddin.
The government’s target to bring industries from metropolitan cities into special economic zones is certainly the first step towards industrial symbiosis for Bangladesh but the environmental and social considerations are essential, he said.
Beza must take precautions through regulatory reforms so as to not face detrimental consequences, he added.
“It is wiser to choose a sustainable track for industrialisation during the primary phase rather than changing the course after facing severe repercussions,” said Sujauddin.
The recycle of waste mainly improves quality of life, said Naser Ezaz Bijoy, president of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Circular economies also ensure security of raw materials and job creation, he said, adding that recycling waste could create seven lakh jobs as per the European Union.
Bijoy, also chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh, said from 2025, some 78 per cent of brands would gradually phase out suppliers not working on a net zero transition.
Net zero refers to a state when the amount of greenhouse gases being produced equals the amount removed from the atmosphere.
Similarly, some 61 per cent of companies have announced that they will not invest in companies which will not work on a net zero plan, he said.
Economic development should not be at the expense of the environment, said FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin.
Annual per capita plastic consumption in Bangladesh is seven to eight kilogrammes but in the US and Japan it is over 100 kilogrammes due to the fact that they can manage plastic waste well, he said.
A circular economy mainly ensures reduction, recycling and reuse of goods which also reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, said Md Shahab Uddin, minister for environment, forest and climate change.
By 2035, Bangladesh will annually generate 4.62 million tonnes of e-waste, he said.
Bangladesh has been experiencing incredible growth, said Eun Joo Allison Yi, senior environmental specialist of Environment, Natural Resources & Blue Economy Global Practice of the World Bank.
Jobs and industrial growth go hand in hand and cleaner production and policy formulation for safeguarding the environment are important, she said.
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said he would form a separate cell in his ministry for managing waste with focus on circular economy.
The minister also advocated for use of technologies for turning waste into assets for the circular economy.
(TDS)
