The government has taken several decisions to make the Bangladesh Secretariat free from single-use plastics from October 2 under a pilot initiative.
The decision would be implemented by putting in place a strict checking system at all the secretariat entrances to prevent the entry of identified single-use plastic items, said a press release from the environment, forest and climate change ministry on Sunday.
Each ministry will appoint a focal person and form a monitoring committee, while the ministries and departments located outside the secretariat premises will also implement the decision.聽
If this pilot programme succeeds, it will serve as a model to scale across the country, as per the release.
The government鈥檚 first initiative in this regard came in August last year just after the interim government鈥檚 takeover when single-use plastic bottles were banned on the Chief Adviser鈥檚 Office premises.
Mentioning that disposed of single-use plastics did not easily decompose, causing severe damage to soil, water and biodiversity, the Sunday release stated that making the secretariat plastics free was the reflection of the government鈥檚 commitment towards building an eco-friendly and sustainable future.
As per the government decisions, from October 2, visitors will receive One Time Password, OTP in short, messages containing instructions not to bring single-use plastics inside the secretariat.
From the same date, all shopping outlets and canteens on its premises will stop using single-use plastic bottles, cups, plates and spoons.
Instead, jute and cloth bags along with other eco-friendly items will be encouraged.
The monitoring committees formed by the ministries would regularly monitor and evaluate the progress of plastics-free initiatives at the secretariat, according to the release.
Security personnel, officials and employees of the administrative hub will receive awareness sessions on the harmful impact of plastics and also the use of alternatives.
Banners and stickers carrying messages advocating for plastics-free environment would be displayed at the secretariat buildings, entrances and in front of lifts, the release said.
To implement these decisions, the Pollution Control Wing-1 of the environment ministry has already issued letters to the relevant ministries and departments.
In addition, the environment ministry鈥檚 monitoring committee would visit the ministries to keep the initiative on track, the press release added.
The interim government put a ban on the use of polythene and polypropylene shopping bags at all superstores across the country from October 1, 2024.
Same month the environment ministry formed a committee to monitor the ban on polythene shopping bags.
From November 1 last year, a nationwide drive was launched to strictly enforce the ban on production, storage, transportation, marketing and use of polythene and polypropylene shopping bags.
Under the drive, 3,797 cases were filed and around Tk 2.64 crore was realised in fines between January 2 and September 11 this year for air, noise and polythene pollution across the country.
The use of single-use plastic, polythene and polypropylene shopping bags, however, continues unabated across the country.
