The newly formed government in Bangladesh is about to implement the existing law regarding plastic usage by strictly banning — initially — single-use plastic and, gradually, all possible plastic uses. Civil society members formed the current non-political government on Aug. 8, 2024, after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet left the country on Aug. 05 following mass protests against the government’s various acts of misconduct. Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the newly appointed advisor for the environment, forest and climate change ministry, told Mongabay, “As the first step, we are banning the use of polythene-made bags for grocery use and, gradually, we will implement all possible usage.” “We have had a law since 2002 to stop the use of plastics. However, it has never been implemented. The current government decided to implement the act to save our environment and ecology,” she added. According to Section 6A of Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 2002 (Amended), the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has the authority to control the production and use of polythene-made products, including single-use plastic bags and water bottles. The act permits the authority to impose monetary fines or imprisonment on the violators. As part of implementing the law, single-use plastic bags for grocery purposes were prohibited from Oct. 1. Meanwhile, all government offices have stopped using single-use plastic water bottles. Instead, the government suggests using glassware or other forms of reusable materials. Additionally, on Aug. 28, the government issued a circular mentioning 17 plastic-made materials as single-use…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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