Waste pickers are not usually attracted to plastic garbage due to its light weight and insignificant price, but recently in Chattogram they have been collecting it diligently as the city corporation, a multinational company, and an NGO are providing incentive for collecting the discarded imperishable material.

Unilever Bangladesh Limited, one of the leading multinational companies operating in the country, has taken the initiative to give incentives to waste collectors and traders of Chattogram city for supplying plastics.

With the help of the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC), private development organisation Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) is running the plastic waste collection programme in 41 wards of the port city after the three parties signed an agreement in this regard.

Under this programme, the city’s listed waste collectors are getting an incentive of Tk2 per kg on sale and scrap dealers Tk1 per kg on purchase of plastic and polythene garbage.

Currently, 200 scrap dealers and 2,400 waste collectors in the Chattogram City Corporation area are getting the incentive every month.

YPSA keeps track of the amount of plastic supplied by the waste collectors and dealers on a daily basis, and sends the incentive money to their accounts at the end of every month.

YPSA workers are also going door to door in different wards of the city to raise awareness among the people about the necessity of recycling plastics properly. They are also distributing leaflets, making announcements through megaphones, and seeking religious leaders’ help for this purpose.

As a result of all these initiatives, plastic and polythene wastes are separated from other types of garbage at the source, expediting the recycling process.

Visiting ward seven in Chattogram city’s Bayazid area,

our correspondent found that three big containers of red, yellow and green colours were kept at each house for dumping decomposable wastes, plastics and polythene separately.

The city corporation’s waste collectors take away garbage at a certain time every day.

Waste collector Didarul Alam told the Daily Sun that he came to Chattogram city with his family from Patiya upazila, hoping to change his fortune, but he started collecting garbage as he did not find any other job. He was struggling to meet the expenses of his three children’s education, even though he managed to support his family with the low income of this work. However, his luck turned for the better after incentives on plastic and polythene garbage were introduced.

“Due to the incentives, I have been collecting more garbage, especially plastic, than before. It has increased my income, which enables me to provide a tutor for my elder son,” said Didarul, who has received the “Best Waste Picker” award from the Chattogram City Corporation.

Josna Akhter Mim, a resident of the Bayazid area, said, “We now keep the garbage in separate containers and the city corporation workers take it away every day. Besides, our domestic help now sorts out plastic bottles and polythene bags accumulated at our home and sells those to the scrap traders, which she did not do previously. It reduces our problems in waste disposal.”

Mobarak Ali, councillor of ward seven and chairman of the CCC’s waste management committee, told the Daily Sun that the waste management programme taken by YPSA and Unilever is improving the city’s environment. They have made the city corporation’s work easy.

According to a study of the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, published in September 2022, Chattogram city produces around 3,000 tonnes of solid waste every day on an average, around 249 tonnes of which was plastic. Around 56% of the city’s plastic waste remained uncollected and ended up in the environment before the launch of the YPSA-Unilever programme.

After the waste management project started in June 2022, plastic waste collection in the city has increased from 44% of the total to 54%, said sources at YPSA.

YPSA also said 11,542 tonnes of plastic waste has been collected under the waste management project from June 2022 to September 2023. The collected plastic wastes were sent to the recyclers for recycling, which is contributing to the government’s action plan for plastic management. This initiative will also help in reducing the influx of virgin plastics in the market.

Sheikh Mohammad Tauhidul Islam, chief executive officer of the CCC, said, “Unfortunately, Chattogram city is flooded every year during the monsoon season. Non-degradable plastic waste is one of the reasons for waterlogging in the city. We are working on plastic waste management. The project taken by Unilever and YPSA has sped up our waste management work.”

YPSA Chief Executive Arifur Rahman said, “Working on plastic waste management is very significant for us. This initiative will play important roles in protecting the city’s environment and promoting sustainable practices in plastic waste management. We are running the management work in a conventional method, without applying any new technique.”

Shamima Akhtar, director (corporate affairs, partnerships and communications) of Unilever Bangladesh, said, “Unilever’s global goal is to collect more plastic than we produce by 2025. We are working to create a sustainable value chain in plastic waste collection.”