PRODUCTION and sale of polythene has continued unabated across the country though government has taken multiple initiatives to promote the use of jute bags as an alternative in the recent years. The main reason is that commercial production of the jute-based “Sonali Bag” failed to take off due to shortages in funding and raw materials. Dr Mubarak Hossain Khan, the scientist who developed the jute fibre based polymer and Scientific Advisor to the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation said the Sonali Bags are made from 100% organic material and are entirely biodegradable. Newspaper reports said about 20,000 Sonali Bags are produced currently under the pilot project at Latif Bawany Jute Mills in Demra before being supplied to a number of small traders. However, officials say this is insignificant in comparison to the huge demand.
On the other hand, use of polythene bags is increasing day by day. Drives against the polythene bags are sometimes conducted, but not frequently enough to discourage producers. It’s learnt that enforcement operations against illegal polythene industries dropped by 44% in the last fiscal year, with 353 enforcement operations in FY18 as compared to 629 in FY17. The Department of Environment collected Tk43.71 lakh in fines from polythene producers in FY18 as compared to Tk1.17 crore in the previous fiscal year, amounting to a 66% decrease. Besides, the DoE took action against 579 polythene producers in FY18, which is 57% lower than the previous fiscal year. A total 1,336 polythene producers faced legal action in FY17. The DoE seized 104.6 tons of polythene in FY18, as compared to 152.74 tons in FY17.
It’s true that polythene shopping bags are cheap. Usually, a consumer gets it free of cost. And it is the root cause of its huge demand. Polythene bags cause many negative effects for humans and the environment. Generally people use disposable polythene shopping bags out of convenience and ignorance of their seriously negative consequences. This waste not only affects all types of biomass and organisms but also causes harm to natural environments from the beginning to the end of their life cycle.
On the other hand, use of polythene bags is increasing day by day. Drives against the polythene bags are sometimes conducted, but not frequently enough to discourage producers. It’s learnt that enforcement operations against illegal polythene industries dropped by 44% in the last fiscal year, with 353 enforcement operations in FY18 as compared to 629 in FY17. The Department of Environment collected Tk43.71 lakh in fines from polythene producers in FY18 as compared to Tk1.17 crore in the previous fiscal year, amounting to a 66% decrease. Besides, the DoE took action against 579 polythene producers in FY18, which is 57% lower than the previous fiscal year. A total 1,336 polythene producers faced legal action in FY17. The DoE seized 104.6 tons of polythene in FY18, as compared to 152.74 tons in FY17.
It’s true that polythene shopping bags are cheap. Usually, a consumer gets it free of cost. And it is the root cause of its huge demand. Polythene bags cause many negative effects for humans and the environment. Generally people use disposable polythene shopping bags out of convenience and ignorance of their seriously negative consequences. This waste not only affects all types of biomass and organisms but also causes harm to natural environments from the beginning to the end of their life cycle.
