Sachet marketing — selling products in small quantities, usually in mini packs — has practically revolutionised the business of consumer products over the last few decades. Gradually, however, it is turning into a serious cause for concern. The discarded plastic packaging of soap, shampoo, coffee, biscuits, and laundry detergents raises environmental concerns. Low-income consumers usually buy packets of small sash more in developing countries; thus, their discard significantly impacts the environment. Bangladesh annually produces 192,104 tonnes of plastic sachet waste, popularly known as mini packs.
The Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) disclosed the information in a study report in the capital on Saturday. The country produces in total 1.06 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste annually. According to the study, sachets from food items make up 40 per cent of total plastic sachets generated in the country, followed by cosmetic products (24 per cent), medicine (8 per cent), beverages, house cleaning products, cooking ingredients, and others. The packet is small, but its harmful impact is big as the plastic sachets are not recyclable. It is multi-layered which means many types of heavy metals- chromium, cadmium, lead and adhesive are used here. The sunlight reacts with those chemicals and harms the human body and the ecosystem.
Dangerous chemicals released from the sachet and the whole sachet itself mixes with the environment and pollutes soil, water and air. Then it enters the human body through the food cycle. The chemicals in the multi-layered mini packs can harm the lungs, create headaches, and invite reproductive illness and various lung ailments. The business should be responsible to nature as we have no second planet. With global concern regarding the environment and recycling items, the growing waste of small sachets is a concern for all. The companies should rethink the impact of the small business that pollutes largely. The government should prepare a policy to discourage the uses of plastic sachets and encourage eco-friendly packaging. Single-use plastic should be banned but alternative environment-friendly packaging must be introduced before that.
