Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; has said that the use of polythene shopping bags must be restricted to protect future generations.
“The secretariat will be declared plastic-free by December,” she said while speaking at a seminar as the chief guest at the Department of Environment (DoE) at Agargaon in the capital on Sunday.
The DoE arranged the seminar to raise public awareness about alternative products to banned polythene shopping bags.
Dr. Farhina Ahmed, secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Dr. Abdul Hamid, director general of DOE; Rajinara Begum, director of DoE; Muhammad Helal Uddin, president of Shop Owners Association; Md. Arifur Rahman Bhuiyan, an assistant professor of the Department of Environmental Science at BUP; spoke at the seminar, among others.
At the seminar, they discussed the harms of polythene and the necessity of its alternative products.
Earlier in the day, Syeda Rizwana Hasan inaugurated a fair that showcasing alternative products to banned polythene shopping bags. She along with others visited stalls of the fair.
The fair featured environment-friendly products from both government and private entrepreneurs. Reusable bags, jute bags, paper bags and products made from bamboo and cane were displayed in the fair.
Speaking at the seminar, Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that initiatives will be taken to ban the use of polythene bags at shopping malls from October 1 next while at kitchen markets from November 1.
She called upon everyone to refrain from using polythene at own responsibility. “Actions against polythene producers will begin from November 1,” she told the seminar.
She said the process of restricting polythene will be implemented in phases as per the law. Discussions are going on with shopping centers and store owners regarding this initiative. The secretariat will be declared plastic-free by December, she added.
