Innovative, smart solutions must for plastic waste management: Minister

Stakeholders will have to develop innovative and smart solutions for managing plastic waste in Bangladesh, LGRD Minister Md Tazul Islam said Saturday. 
 
"Waste collection is now not considered to be sustainable as it is still not viewed as a business proposition," he said while speaking at the seminar "Enabling policy for sustainable plastic waste management" in Dhaka. 
 
An effective solution would be the circular system, which ensures the consumption of plastic does not increase and moves towards a sustainable waste management model, Tazul said. 
 
"We must also empower the value chain actors and provide holistic support to the informal sector, comprising the micro-entrepreneurs, scrap dealers and waste pickers. This informal yet important sector must be facilitated and a proper structure should be developed for our own sake," he added. 
 
"The government's Vision 2041 has incorporated plastic waste management in its sustainable urbanisation goals," Senior Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Md Tofazzal Hossain Miah said at the programme jointly organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Unilever Bangladesh. 
 
Unilever Bangladesh CEO and Managing Director Zaved Akhtar and FBCCI President Md Jasim Uddin also spoke.