Did you know that Bangladesh has a huge industry of plastic manufacture?
Around 6,000 plastic companies are there employing about 1.5 million people. Different plastic products are produced for domestic and international markets.
Plastic industry has grown and became an important sector for the economy in the last two decades. Wide variety of products are engineered by different companies.
In the domestic market, 80% of production is produced by small medium enterprises (SMEs) among 3000 manufacturing companies.
Today the plastic industry is around 560 billion dollars worth. Besides producing products, the domestic market also has a huge impact on raw materials of plastic.
PET, resin, PVC, building materials have huge demand for exports from Bangladesh. Also kitchenwares, film plastics and garment accessories are exported.
Countries like the USA, Canada, China, Nepal, India are the main buyers. RFL group, Akij group, Meghna group are some companies that export plastic products.
According to the Export Bureau (EPB), plastic exports have increased more than last year.
Plastic industry is mainly Dhaka centric. Around 65% industry is situated in Dhaka and 20% is in Chittagong.
Bangladesh has no polyfin unit to produce raw materials so it is needed to be imported. Then around half of plastic waste gets recycled which saves money of importing virgin raw materials but it is also concerning to the environment.
Bangladesh needs to capture the global market to expand the export game.
BGMEA has set a target of 5 billion dollars export within the next five years. According to BIDA, the current market is worth around 2 billion dollars.
It is targeted to make a 10 billion dollars industry by 2028. Bangladesh has a good future in this industry and investments are needed to be implemented by Government and giant companies.
With the advancements of the plastic industry, the plastic waste has gotten worse. Because of recycling, there is a huge industry regarding plastic waste management.
In Bangladesh, there is no technical way to manage waste. Only 48 percent of used plastic gets recycled. Rest of the waste is put out to pollute the soil and affect the environment.
Dhaka is the capital and it has the highest amount of plastic waste than any other cities. The World Bank has proposed a long term waste management policy to sustain the process.
Using reduce, recycle, reuse strategy, Bangladesh can reduce plastic based wastes ensuring new jobs and environmental challenges.
There are certain side effects which should be handled with more caution. Working with plastic waste can create severe health issues like vision problems, respiratory problems, lung problems because of toxicity.
Also plastic pollution is the most talked about topic. But with caution and safety, the plastic industry can be used for the betterment of the world.
Bangladesh has a brilliant future in the plastic industry. This industry has created a new era of exporting goods.
Because of this industry, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) industry is growing. New job sectors are created for youths.
The negative image can be changed through proper management. If the government and industrialists want, a revolution can happen in this sector.
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Writer
Nusrat Jahan Sonia
Intern, Content Writing Department,
YSSE