Introduction

The oceans are swimming in it, the rivers are choked with it, coastlines are collecting it, landfills are clogged with it and our trash cans are filled with it. Plastic has become an inseparable component of our daily life. According to a study, the world has made more  than 9 billion metric tons of plastic since 1950. Now imagine laying out 9 billion metric tonnes of plastics evenly, we can cover an area  the size of Argentina. Plastics are ubiquitous in our surroundings. Since the 20th century plastic has revolutionized the world with a myriad of different uses. Nevertheless, human life and ecosystems are threatened due to excessive usage of plastics. In recent years, rapid urbanization and development has increased the consumption of plastic products and waste generated, especially due to the convenience, light weight, and durability of plastics. Due to plastics’ longevity and resistance to decomposition, their widespread use has led to an epidemic of mismanaged waste.

Bangladesh's explosive growth and urbanization resulted in an increase in both plastic use and pollution. Bangladesh's annual per capita plastic usage in urban areas has tripled in the previous 15 years, from 3 kg in 2005 to 9 kg in 2020. Consumption of LDPE packaging materials (plastic bags, for example) grew fivefold between 2005 and 2020. Only 31% of the 977,000 tonnes of plastic consumed in 2020 were recycled. Single-use plastics such as shopping bags, packs, and wrappers accounted for the majority of unmanaged plastic garbage.  Dhaka's annual per capita plastic use is 22.25 kg, which is more than three times the national average for metropolitan regions. Dhaka collects around 646 tonnes of plastic garbage every day, accounting for 10% of all rubbish created in Bangladesh. Only 37.2 percent of Dhaka's plastic garbage gets recycled. Plastic use per capita in European countries exceeds 100 kg, which is far greater than in Bangladesh. However, due to poor waste management, Bangladesh is one of the most plastic- polluted countries. This data in itself proves that plastic recycling should become our number one priority as of this moment.

Challenges of the Recycling Process and Causes ofInsufficient Recycling

Recycling is defined as the action or process of converting waste into reusable material. Plastic is perhaps the most challenging material to recycle of all the things that wind up in our recycling bins. This is due to the fact that plastics are made up of a variety of polymer kinds. As a result, recycling different polymers together is nearly impossible because they melt at different temperatures. There are a ton of problems with recycling plastics.  It is the cost of collection and sorting that holds the number one spot according to waste management experts. A thousand different types of plastic are now available, but they can't be melted together. After a single or two uses, plastic begins to degrade. It's found that the more you reuse plastic, the more toxic it gets. For a long time the focus has been on decreasing the use of plastic as the solution.The magnitude of the environmental problem, however, makes it difficult to provide a straightforward solution.  In reality less than half of the waste in Bangladesh is being recycled. According to a report, almost half of  all the plastic was incinerated for energy recovery  while  25  percent  is landfilled and only  12 percent is being  recycled.

Manufacturers, importers and brand owners will have to collect 100% plastic waste they generate by 2030. They have to recycle the used plastics too, said Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director of the Department of Environment, while presenting a draft of a sustainable plastic management plan in a workshop about a year ago.

For instance, in order to meet the government's goal,  an additional 5.7 million tonnes of material between now and 2030 will need to be recycled; this amount of material would fill at least 5 lakh refuse vehicles. These recycling goals will be missed by more than ten years if nothing changes.

Instead  of reducing  the  sheer number of throwaway  plastics created in  the   beginning, recycling is  being looked  at as a solution. Nevertheless,  even when plastics are  recyclable and sorted in the  bin, 70% still winds  up in landfills, is burned creating large emissions of harmful gasses or  ends  up being  thrown in the  sea.

One of the significant drawbacks we  are facing is the underfunded waste and  recycling infrastructures. Which results in relying on  the cut-rate waste treatment provided by the  local authorities.

Different Techniques of Recycling

There are  three separate courses of actions for recycling plastics but a few steps lay in common for them all.

Firstly, collecting and sorting recyclable materials from waste. Then using the techniques to residue and return it to raw material. And lastly turning the raw material into finished product again.

Mechanical  Recycling

This is the most popular process in the world and is used to recycle paper, plastic and glass. This process mechanically turns the residue into new materials while  keeping the chemical structure of the original material same.

Mechanical recycling is the process of making plastic wastes useful by processes like grinding, washing, separating, drying, re-granulating, and compounding. (Almack 2021)

Chemical recycling requires more energy than mechanical recycling. Recycling chemicals consumes more energy and emits more CO2. Plastic waste is shred using mechanical recycling, which doesn't involve hazardous chemicals.

Chemical Recycling

Chemical recycling is the latest technology recently implemented in the recycling process. The significant characteristic of this process is that it can bring back material from any of the cascade steps all the way back to the raw, high-quality material it initially was.    Chemical recycling is a hypernym for three separate processes; Pyrolysis, gasification and depolymerization. Chemical recycling makes it possible to produce high-quality finished goods, including new plastics and chemicals, which can be utilised as drop-in replacements in all of the applications for fossil-based alternatives now in use. It also reduces the dependency on crude oil imports and also reduces the carbon footprint of the products.

Energy Recycling

This method only works with plastic waste and consists of transforming plastic into both thermal and electric energy by capitalizing the heat power released by these materials in the form of fuel through incineration. This process is used in a lot of countries as it takes up a small area but it requires a lot of capital to build.

Solution to Plastic Recycling

Bangladesh gradually reduced plastic pollution, with varying results: in 2002, it became the world's first country to outlaw plastic shopping bags. After a while, though, plastic consumption and mismanagement surged again. The Jute Packaging Act of 2010 encouraged an alternative to plastic packaging for six vital goods (paddy, rice, wheat, maize, fertilizer, and sugar). In 2020, a High Court ordered that single-use plastic be banned in coastal regions as well as in all hotels and motels across the country.

These significant steps taken by the government shows the willingness of moving forward to a greener future. But the next focus should be on increasing and improving the recycling capabilities of Bangladesh.

For example, the government should increase capacity and infrastructure in order to accommodate the increasing use of plastic. For this to happen a huge amount of resources must be made available in this sector. More incentives should be given to the private sector in order to encourage recycling. If this does not prove to be effective then new rules and regulations must be put forward which will penalize them if necessary.

Moreover, rules must be set for all the areas on disposing of waste. For example, different types ofwaste (recyclable waste and non recyclable waste) should be put in different bags before disposing. And waste management workers must be educated on the classification of wastes in order to efficiently recycle.

Government initiating new laws and schemes to encourage consumers and producers stands to be a significant pillar to the next step of recycling.

Conclusion

Plastic recycling is essential at this point, both as a technique of dealing with existing waste and as a component of both the circular economy and zero-waste systems.The consequences stretch further than social, environmental, and economic damages and whether that is the issue of microplastics or an estimated $2.5 trillion in damage and lost resources to fisheries, aquaculture, recreational activities, and global wellbeing, the impact is no longer in doubt. Excessive use of plastics created a serious  and long lasting impact in Bangladesh. As plastics are increasingly demonized in Bangladesh, their use and even their existence have been vilified. To tackle this issue, increased investments in plastic recycling plants and increased government initiatives is a necessity. Nevertheless, true change can  only  be brought by us (consumers). Every  small portion we put  towards recycling will amount to a drastic change. Stakeholder awareness must be raised via consistent communication and the use of economic tools to ensure the effective implementation of an impeccable plastic recycling process. To catalyze inclusive business models, it is critical to encourage advances in plastic waste reduction and recycling technologies with financial aid. These multi-stakeholder actions will accelerate the transition to a circular plastics economy, allowing the government to fulfill its objective and serve as an example for other nations.

(Sadwaan R. Majumder is a freelance writer, a graduate of UWC Atlantic, and a current student of aerospace engineering at Brunel University in London)