Unilever Bangladesh Limited and CIRCULAR, a social purpose-driven organization, will jointly collect 10,000 tonnes of plastic waste from Dhaka by May 2023 with the aim of preventing an impending environmental catastrophe.
The two organizations will work on building a sustainable and equitable reverse supply chain for the recovery of all kinds of post-consumer plastic waste.
According to the World Bank, less than one-third (30%) of the plastic waste is collected in Bangladesh and only 37% of the collected plastic waste is recycled.
An estimated 24,032–36,047 tonnes of plastic waste have been dumped in our river system.
In 2021, Unilever launched the biggest municipal-backed plastic waste collection project in Bangladesh in collaboration with Narayanganj City Corporation and UNDP.
Zaved Akhtar, CEO and managing director of Unilever Bangladesh Limited, said: “Our value is to do business sustainably and leave behind a thriving world for future generations. We want to ensure that plastic stays in the economy and out of the environment.
“As a responsible company, we are committed to playing our part. However, plastic pollution is too big for us to solve alone. We believe that this is a collective responsibility, and each stakeholder needs to play an active role in managing plastic waste,” he added.
“We are advocating for systems change to create a circular economy for plastics. In reaching this important partnership with CIRCULAR, we both acknowledge that the issue of plastic waste is a shared responsibility,” he further said.
The environmental crisis requires bold action across the value chain to develop and scale up the collection, which is critical in the transition toward a circular economy model.
“We need to act immediately to take responsible actions and help Bangladesh’s Green Growth Strategy as per the government’s 2100 Delta Plan,” he said.