Consultation Workshop On Environmental Guideline for Plastic Production and Its Recycling Management

Consultation Workshop
On
Environmental Guideline for Plastic Production and Its Recycling Management

Date: August 30, 2022
Time: 10:30 AM
Venue: PKSF Bhaban

Plastic pollution has emerged as one of the most critical environmental concerns, not just in Bangladesh but also around the entire world, as the capacity to handle the increasing supply of disposable plastic goods becomes overloaded. The Environment and Climate Change Unit (ECCU) of PKSF has taken the initiative to prepare “Environmental Guideline for Plastic Production and its Recycling Management” in order to reduce the negative environmental effects of plastic waste. On August 30, 2022, PKSF hosted a consultation session on the proposed guideline with a view to gathering a wider viewpoint from academics and practitioners. The Honorable Managing Director of PKSF Dr. Nomita Halder, ndc was the chief guest in the workshop. Dr. Halder welcomed all participants and invited them to participate actively in the workshop. The main objective of the workshop was to gather expert recommendations for finalizing the draft of the guidelines.

The session was moderated by Mr. Md. Fazlul Kader, Additional Managing Director, PKSF. The objective and the procedure for drafting the guideline in the current environment were outlined by Dr. Fazle Rabbi Sadeque Ahmed, Deputy Managing Director (Environment and Climate Change), PKSF. Mr. Md. Shahinur Rahman, Environmental Specialist, RAISE Project, PKSF, presented the draft guideline. It should be noted that the guideline will be finalized based on the suggestions made by the participants.

Dr. Mohammad Jamal Uddin, Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University; Dr. Nikhil Ranjan Dhar, Professor, Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, BUET; academics from the University of Dhaka and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, representatives from the Department of Environment (DoE), Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, PKSF’s partner organizations; Padakhep Manabik Unnayan Kendra (PMUK), Resource Integration Centre (RIC), Micro Entrepreneurs of plastic goods production; and concerned officials of PKSF attended the workshop. The experts made valuable suggestions that will help to improve the quality of the guidelines. Some of these are to articulate further the guideline’s objective, mission, and vision; to incorporate the diversification of plastic production and its usage; to value-adjust waste management; to raise awareness; to have the DoE endorsed all guidelines; to elaborate on occupational hazard issues; and so on.

Finally, the honorable Managing Director of PKSF thanked all the participants for their valuable inputs to the draft guideline.