Roundtable Calls for Unified Strategy to Combat Plastic Pollution

Weak enforcement of existing policies coupled with limited co-ordinated regional efforts in addressing the issue were being cited as the other reasons.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Bangladesh's Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Dr. Farhina Ahmed, called for a regional strategy to address the plastic pollution crisis during a high-level panel discussion at the recent 'Plastic-Free Rivers and Seas: A Vision for South Asia' Regional Roundtable in the capital city of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

She claims that the detrimental effects of growing plastic pollution have been felt in South Asia, which is home to some of the most significant river systems in the world. The ecosystem and living things are both at risk from the plastic debris that ends up in rivers.

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She cited insufficient trash management techniques, like burning and open dumping, as one of the three causes of the plastic waste problem in the area. Other causes were attributed to a lack of coordinated regional efforts to address the problem and the lax implementation of current rules.

Bangladesh called for South Asian nations to invest in cutting-edge sorting and recycling facilities and enhance cooperative efforts in order to fortify the region's plastic recycling value chain. Additionally, it demanded that plastic products be phased out and replaced with recyclable alternatives.

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