Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan speaks at the media roundtable held at the TBS Conference Room on 28 May, urging both producers and consumers to take responsibility for reducing single-use plastic to protect the city’s rivers and canals. Photo: MEHEDI HASAN

To effectively address Dhaka’s plastic pollution crisis, experts suggested innovative solutions such as floating plastic barriers, community engagement, and school-based awareness campaigns. They also called for the inclusion of informal waste collectors, holding producers responsible for their plastic waste, and improving recycling systems. In addition, they stressed that lasting impact requires policy reform, increased public awareness, and coordinated national action.

Inam Ahmed
Editor, The Business Standard

Today’s session addresses a vital issue: how to keep Dhaka’s canals and rivers free from plastic waste. Plastic pollution has significantly disrupted water flow in areas such as the Hatirjheel project, posing a serious threat to the city.

Decades ago, paper bags were commonly used, but the introduction of plastic bags in the 1980s led to widespread dependence on plastic packaging. Mini packets, in particular, have become a major source of pollution in Dhaka. This discussion aims to identify solutions to this problem, including acknowledging the vital role played by street waste collectors, often referred to as “tokai”.

Despite their essential contribution to maintaining cleanliness, they remain unrecognised and unsupported. It is important that they are treated with dignity and included in the system. The session also seeks to explore ways to improve recycling processes.

Alok Kumar Majumder
Director – Programme & Operation, RedOrange Limited

The Kallyanpur Canal project of RedOrange Limited was successfully carried out in the Kallyanpur and Ramchandrapur canals of Dhaka under the Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) initiative, implemented by the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) and supported by UNOPS and the World Bank. From the outset, DNCC played a vital guiding role, which greatly contributed to the project’s timely success. Today’s Round Table is jointly organised by the TBS and RedOrange.

Plastic pollution is a major challenge in Bangladesh, with 977,000 tonnes of plastic waste generated annually. Particularly alarming is the release of 7,928 million microbeads each month, which enter our bodies and cause serious health issues. Without proper recycling and integration into a circular economy, this crisis will only escalate.

Jannatul Munia
Director (Strategy), RedOrange Limited

This project addresses the growing issue of plastic pollution in Bangladesh. Research shows that the country produces over 821,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually, with around 15% ending up in rivers, canals, and the sea.
Inspired by Amsterdam’s canal management, the project began after observing plastic blockages in Dhaka’s Kallyanpur canal. RedOrange, a Bangladeshi organisation, initiated the effort using a “Five-for-One Integrated Approach”.

Dr Rumana Afrin
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering and Associate Director, CSIRS-UIU

In Dhaka North, fifteen hotspots have been identified where uncontrolled, low-income settlements along canals contribute significantly to plastic pollution. Lacking formal waste collection systems, residents often dispose of waste directly into the water, severely disrupting flow.

Samiul Islam
Deputy Director (Operations), RedOrange Limited

Through trial and error, a successful model was developed, centred on the “Five-For-One Integrated Approach”, which involved all stakeholders, including the local community.

Technical barriers were installed, but it became clear that public awareness was essential.

Air Commodore Md Mahbubur Rahman Talukdar
Chief Waste Management Officer (Deputy Secretary), DSCC

The PLEASE Project, initiated by Red Orange in the Kalyanpur Canal, is a significant step toward addressing plastic pollution. We are also working to reduce plastic usage and promote reuse. If a similar project is undertaken in the South City Corporation area, we are ready to provide our full support. Without coordinated efforts, plastic reduction goals will remain ineffective. I strongly urge the inclusion of South City Corporation in such initiatives. 

Transitioning to biodegradable plastics is essential if we are to see real progress.

Md. Mahady Hassan
Country Coordinator, 2030 Water Resource Group, Bangladesh, World Bank

Dhaka has over 1,200 macroplastic hotspots where waste accumulates before flowing into rivers and canals. With more than 200 canals in Greater Dhaka — compared to just one in Amsterdam — this extensive network is a valuable but poorly maintained resource. Additionally, Dhaka’s five rivers have around 130–150 macroplastic hotspots along their banks. The current approach to managing these waterways is unsustainable.

A key solution lies in technical interventions to remove plastic waste from rivers—an essential element of the PLEASE Project.

AKM Shahid Uddin
Deputy Managing Director (O&M), Dhaka Wasa

I have worked in the drainage sector for many years and was the project director for our party in the Hatirjheel project. When we began, water from the Panthapath box culvert used to carry large amounts of polythene and solid waste into the Begunbari canal. We realised that if this continued, it would eventually clog the pipes and damage the system.

Tabassum Abdullah
Executive Engineer and Additional Chief Waste Management Officer (in charge), DNCC

Having worked on the ground, I’ve seen firsthand that Dhaka’s canals are in serious distress. Many have lost their natural water flow due to illegal encroachments. In those that still flow, household sewage is often directly discharged into the canals or storm drains, eventually making its way to the rivers.

Dr M Assaduzzaman
Senior Policy Advisor-Climate, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh

As a development partner of Bangladesh, the Netherlands has long been involved in the water sector, where plastic pollution poses a serious threat. We work closely with the government, private sector, civil society, and knowledge institutions, focusing on finance, technology transfer, and capacity building.

Helemul Alam
Journalist, The Daily Star

While much attention is given to plastic waste, I want to shift the focus to Dhaka’s canals. For a book I wrote, I visited nearly all of them. Garbage management is critical, but the greater threat is encroachment – housing projects are rapidly devouring canals. Many still survive, but without urgent action, we could lose them within two to five years.

RDSC data based on CS surveys recorded 175 canals historically. By 2022, 80 had vanished. Fifteen are in critical condition, while 71 still exist. One major cause of their disappearance was policy failure, especially the decision to construct box culverts after the 1988 flood. Between 1990 and 2005, 10 canals were covered with box culverts, drastically reducing water flow and making waste management nearly impossible.

Rumana Afroze Dipti
Gender Analyst/Research Associate, BELA

The amount of microplastics we ingest each year could produce at least fifty plastic bags. This alarming reality highlights the urgency of addressing plastic waste. In Bangladesh, the recycling industry is still largely informal and unregulated. I believe that those directly involved in recycling must receive greater attention, ensuring their safety, skill development, and proper training.

Hasan Ahmed
Technical Expert – Environment, PLEASE Project, UNOPS

For effective community engagement, involving children and adolescents in an organised way can foster family-level awareness. At the same time, formalising waste workers – by issuing ID numbers – can enhance their dignity and social acceptance. Scrap dealers should also be brought into the formal system.

Shamim Ahmed
President, Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA)

Our objective is to prevent environmental pollution, and the BPGMEA shares this commitment. While the World Bank reports that 37% of plastic in Bangladesh is recycled, our estimate exceeds 50%. We actively participated in the formulation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines, many of our recommendations having been adopted by ministries.

Musfika Sultana
Communication Focal, UNOPS Bangladesh

I’m not an expert in waste management, but as someone working in communications, I’d like to highlight three key suggestions.

First, Dhaka’s city corporations could consider forming local EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) task forces. These bodies could oversee producer registration, ensure reporting compliance, and monitor waste flows at the local level.

Second, setting up Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in key plastic pollution hotspots would allow for better integration of collected waste into the recycling chain. Third, from an urban planning angle, we could develop ward-based plastic leakage maps.

Adil Mohammed Khan
President, Bangladesh Institute of Planners,
Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Jahangirnagar University

To combat plastic pollution, we must prioritise reducing, reusing, and recycling. Despite banning polythene in 2002, Bangladesh has failed to enforce the ban effectively. Approximately 45 million polythene bags are used daily in Dhaka alone, clogging drains and polluting canals. The lack of viable alternatives is often cited, yet the world once operated without polythene and can do so again.

Dr Tariq Bin Yousuf
Waste Management Expert

One major issue we’re not addressing seriously enough is waste burning, a dangerous form of waste crime. Across Dhaka and beyond, all types of waste — including polyethene and plastic — are being burned openly. This releases black carbon into the air, posing severe public health and environmental risks. Yet this invisible crisis receives little attention.

In many areas, to reduce transportation costs, waste is burned at the source. Elsewhere, to manage overflowing landfills, all waste is incinerated every few months. The reality is, not a single landfill in the country is free from waste burning.

Murad Bin Aziz
Business Development Specialist, Arannayk Foundation

We need to focus on two key areas.

First, people’s habits must change. Waste should not be thrown anywhere. It must be placed in designated bins or collection points. To achieve this, we must raise awareness. People need to understand why proper waste disposal is important for their health and the environment.

Fariha S Aumi
Member, Local Experts Advisory Committee, DNCC

Bangladesh’s national plan aims to reduce single-use plastic consumption by 90 per cent by 2026. However, this is 2025, and it is clear that this target remains distant. To achieve it, lessons must be drawn from other countries’ successes.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan
Adviser for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change

If we truly care about our families and our health, we must reduce our use of single-use plastics. I believe this is not just a matter of environment — it’s a matter of public well-being. As individuals, we need to take responsibility. Reducing plastic at the consumer level is the first step in proper waste management, followed by reuse and recycling.

I often say that it’s up to us to decide how much polythene we can avoid in our daily lives. If we want to safeguard the next generation from the harmful effects of plastic, we must act now.

From the government’s side, we’re moving gradually towards a complete ban on single-use plastics. Although polythene was officially banned in Bangladesh back in 2002, enforcing that ban remains a challenge. Our officials are often assaulted during crackdowns on illegal polythene factories, especially in places like Chawk Bazar in Dhaka.

Each time we take action, someone inevitably raises concerns about job losses in the plastic industry. But I want to make it clear: we are committed to providing alternative sources of income to those affected. But it is also the responsibility of the factory owners to pay their workers. It’s not fair if they always play the victim card and say the illegal businesses must stay for the sake of the livelihood of their workers. 

At the same time, we’re working to revive the culture of using jute bags. The jute ministry has taken this initiative, and we’re even considering offering these bags at subsidised prices to make them more accessible.
I’ve also urged the city corporations in Dhaka to monitor their local markets closely and ensure they remain free of polythene.

One of our focused efforts has been to make Saint Martin’s Island completely free of single-use plastics. We’re working on a model plan that can prevent plastic from reaching the Bay of Bengal. If we succeed there, I believe we can replicate this approach in other parts of the country.

The private sector and big companies, too, have a big role to play here. For example, I have seen Coca-Cola now uses glass bottles in Europe. I think they should do the same in Bangladesh. If the company needs time to transition, we’re open to discussion. But until that shift happens, they must take full responsibility for collecting and recycling their plastic waste.

These steps may seem small, but together, they can build a cleaner, healthier future for all of us.

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