Five brands produce 58pc of plastic waste in BD

Staff Reporter :
Five local and global brands are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the country fuelling the climate crisis and creating an environmental catastrophe, according to a study.
The companies — Coca-Cola (20.78 per cent), Pepsico (15.60 per cent), Pran-RFL group (9.63 per cent), Unilever (6.5 per cent) and Partex Group (5.08 per cent) are producing around 58 per cent of the total plastic waste, the study showed.
The plastic pollution scenario in Bangladesh is becoming more dangerous gradually as per capital consumption in urban areas tripled in the last 15 years.
The country has become one of the top plastic polluting countries due to the mismanagement of plastic waste, the study said.
Around 646 tonnes of plastic waste is collected daily in Dhaka but only 37.2 per cent of it is recycled, according to the study conducted by the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), which was revealed on Monday.
The ESDO’s study also showed that the Coca-Cola, a multi-national brand, has again retained the highest position as the top polluter of single-use plastic for the 5th time in a row.
The rest of the wastes were from Pepsico (15.60 per cent), Pran-RFL group (9.63 per cent) followed by Unilever (6.5 per cent ), Partex Group (5.08 per cent ), Akij Group (3.63 per cent ), Nestle (5.1 per cent ), Bombay Sweets Limited (3.07 per cent ) and other multinational and local corporations.
Around 30,862 pieces of plastic waste were collected by the volunteers in three cities and the total weight of the collected waste was measured to be 166.1877 kg. The audit record identified major 38 local and 14 international companies producing near about 220 brands in total.
The study identified specific brands and their corresponding manufacturers whose items were found in the most abundant amounts.
The brands include — Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Mum, Pran, Zaa and Zee, Alooz, Matador Orbit, Bashundhara Tissue (packet), Fresh Tissue (packet), Lexus, Center Fruit, Fruit Fun, Pulse, Ruchi, Sunsilk, Kinley, etc.
The total list is dominated mainly by The Coca-Cola Company, Pran-RFL Group, PepsiCo, Partex Group, Akij Food and Beverage Limited and Unilever.
Syed Marghub Murshed, former Secretary of the government and ESDO Chairperson, said, “Single-use plastic has disastrous
consequences not only for the environment but also for human health.”
“Corporate firms must take responsibility for the plastic pollution they are causing. These companies have flooded our market with non-recyclable single-use items and multi-layer tiny sachets or packets,” he added.
Dr Abul Hasem, ESDO Senior Technical Advisor and former Professor Jahangirnagar University, said, “It is quite surprising to see the same corporate polluters are responsible for plastic pollution in Bangladesh 5 times in a row. Government is working on the plastic crisis seriously and through the upcoming plastic treaty, we are hoping to find a solution for such dangerous pollution”.
ESDO’s Executive Director Siddika Sultana said that over 4,000 chemicals have been identified that are potentially present in plastic packaging or used during its manufacture.
At least 148 of these chemicals have been identified as hazardous to human health or the environment and can cause endocrine disruption, which can lead to cancer, birth abnormalities, immune system disorders and developmental problems in children, she said.
ESDO conducted this year’s audit in three different cities — Dhaka, Khulna and Chattogram– on August 25, September 20 and September 24 respectively.