The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Thursday held a meeting with World Bank officials regarding the implementation of the Sustainable Plastic Management Action Plan, aiming to prevent plastic pollution in Bangladesh. 

Presided over by Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed, the meeting was attended, among others, by Additional Secretary (Climate Change) Md Moniruzzaman, Additional Secretary (Environment) Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Additional Secretary (Environmental Pollution Control) Md Mizanur Rahman, the World Bank’s senior environmental expert Yoon Ju Alison Yee and Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Executive Director Syeda Rizwana Hasan.

At the meeting, on behalf of the World Bank, proposals were presented on policies and financing mechanisms for implementing the Sustainable Plastic Management Action Plan. 

The meeting also informed that the World Bank is preparing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as part of the implementation of the action plan.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan spoke on the draft guidelines of EPR on plastics.

Simultaneously, a discussion meeting was held with LafargeHolcim regarding the execution of Geocycle, a modern waste management system. 

Kaushik Mukherjee, head of LafargeHolcim’s Geocycle Division, presented the Geocycle waste management approach to pollution control. 

Kaushik said LafargeHolcim is implementing the method of burning garbage without any residue in a furnace with a temperature of 80°C-2,000°C.  

The Geocycle process burns 100% of the waste, and because it uses garbage instead of fossil fuels, the process does not produce greenhouse gases, he said. 

Dr Farhina Ahmed praised the Geocycle system and said the government will implement it if it is found to be environmentally friendly and feasible after on-site inspections.

She further said the necessary guidelines for the implementation of the Sustainable Plastic Management Action Plan will be formulated in consultation with all concerned.