Integrated approach vital for effective waste management: experts

Effective plastic waste management requires coordinated action by the government, the private sector, development partners, non-government organisations, and local communities, a senior environment official said today, stressing that the 3R strategy must be implemented effectively.

Md Ziaul Haque, additional director general of the Department of Environment, made the remarks while chairing a national seminar in Agargaon, Dhaka, marking World Environment Day 2026.

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The seminar, titled “Integrated Approach for Effective Solid Waste Management”, was jointly organised by the Department of Environment and the WaterAid Bangladesh-Swisscontact Bangladesh consortium, with support from the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh.

It highlighted the need for stronger coordination among stakeholders to ensure effective solid waste management.

Ziaul Haque said environmentally harmful plastic waste cannot be managed sustainably without the effective implementation of the 3R strategy -- Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

“Solid waste management is no longer just a national issue but a global challenge that requires coordinated action,” Mohammad Navid Safiullah, additional secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said while inaugurating the seminar as the chief guest.

“We have the necessary laws, regulations and institutional structures. However, the major gap lies in coordination and the effective engagement of stakeholders,” he added.

He also called for a national workshop involving political leaders and key stakeholders to develop an integrated roadmap for tackling challenges, including plastic pollution.

Syed Ahmed Kabir, deputy director of the Department of Environment, presented a paper, titled “Legal Framework, Institutional Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement in Solid Waste Management”, at the seminar.

A thematic panel discussion featured Prof Rowshan Mumtaz of ITN-BUET, Tariq Bin Yousuf of the United Nations Office for Project Services, Molla Karimul Islam of City Bank PLC, Masud Iqbal Md Shamim of the Department of Environment, and Mohammad Shamsul Haque of the Local Government Division.

Bidowra Tahmin Khan, team leader of the InSPIRE project at Swisscontact Bangladesh, presented a summary of the discussion and outlined the way forward.

Among others, Saief Manzoor-Al-Islam, team leader of GO4IMPact at WaterAid Bangladesh-Swisscontact Bangladesh consortium, and Partha Hefaz Shaikh, director of programmes and policy advocacy at WaterAid Bangladesh, also spoke at the event.