Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Ministry of Water Resources, Rizwana Hasan urged universities to lead by example by declaring and maintaining plastic-free campuses through student engagement, awareness campaigns, and access to sustainable alternatives. She encouraged involving students, especially girls, in producing paper, jute, or cloth bags. A generation that moves away from excessive convenience, she said, will not only reduce harmful plastic consumption but also help revive local industries like jute, strengthen the national economy, and promote environmentally responsible production.
She made these remarks today while speaking joining virtually from his residence in the capital at the Awareness Building and Dissemination Campaign on “Sustainable Plastic-Free Marine Environment”, organised under the Sustainable Capacity Building to Reduce Reversible Pollution by Plastics (SCIP Plastics) project by CUET at Radisson Blu Chattogram Bay View.
She said that shifting from plastic to sustainable alternatives will require time, effort, and a fundamental change in consumer behaviour. She noted that the consumption pattern, developed over decades, cannot be reversed overnight. She added that achieving plastic-free campuses by eliminating single-use plastics and other avoidable plastic items will likewise require sustained institutional commitment.
Commenting on the widespread use of single-use plastics, the Environment Adviser said that consumer dependence is driven largely by convenience and the misconception that such products come “free.” In reality, plastic production incurs significant costs—including labour, electricity, imported machinery, and raw materials—and the hidden price is ultimately paid by the environment and ecosystems.
Rizwana Hasan commended the host institution for successfully implementing the four-year project and encouraged its planned extension. She emphasized that today’s educational interventions would shape tomorrow’s environmental outcomes and stressed the importance of teaching students about the sustainable lifestyles of earlier generations, as well as the economic and ecological benefits of moving away from single-use plastics.
She noted that alternatives already exist for most single-use plastic items, except for some products like disposable pens, where fully sustainable substitutes are still evolving. Bangladesh, she added, is uniquely positioned with easy access to jute, cloth, and other local materials that can replace plastic in daily life. Rising student engagement on plastic alternatives, she said, is an encouraging sign of progress.
Referring to the Bay of Bengal’s status as the ninth most plastic-contaminated marine ecosystem, she said, is the result of poor domestic waste management and plastic inflow from upstream countries, not unusually high plastic consumption in Bangladesh. She warned that although recycling is often promoted as a solution, it is energy-intensive and chemically complex. Therefore, Bangladesh must focus on reducing plastic use, redesigning plastic products for easier recycling, and enforcing extended producer responsibility.
She pointed to global practices—such as mandatory payment for shopping bags, bottle deposit-return systems, and strict regulatory actions—that Bangladesh could adapt. She emphasized that the country must modernize its waste management system to address all forms of waste, with plastics requiring specific attention due to their non-biodegradable nature.
Guests of Honour at the event included Prof. Dr. Mahmud Abdul Matin Bhuiyan, Vice-Chancellor, Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET), and Prof. Dr. Md. Maksud Helali, Vice-Chancellor, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET). Special Guests were Prof. Dr. Asiful Hoque, Dean, Faculty of Civil and Environment Engineering, CUET; Dr. Fahmida Khanom, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Prof. Dr. Md. Reaz Akter Mullick, Head, Department of Civil Engineering, CUET. The programme’s Chief Patron was Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Kraft, Project Lead, SCIP Plastics Project, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (BUW), Germany, and the session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Mst. Farzana Rahman Zuthi, Scientific Director, SCIP Plastics Project, Department of Civil Engineering, CUET.