Bangladesh initiative exchanges plastic waste for thousands of saplings
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- A social organization in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, held an event where residents exchanged plastic waste for saplings.
- Over a thousand people participated, receiving fruit, forest, and medicinal plant saplings in exchange for plastic bottles.
- The initiative aims to reduce plastic pollution and promote tree plantation, with plans to distribute thousands more saplings.
In Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, a unique initiative by the Green Humanity Society is turning plastic waste into a source of greenery. Residents, young and old, queued under the afternoon sun at the Shaheed Minar on the Gurudayal Government College campus to exchange discarded plastic bottles and other waste for saplings.
These bottles were lying around our house and would otherwise have been thrown away, adding to environmental pollution. I am happy that we could exchange them for trees. I will plant the saplings in our garden.
The event saw over a thousand people participate, with each person handing over a specified amount of plastic waste, two small bottles or one large bottle, or equivalent, to receive fruit, forest, or medicinal plant saplings. Rani Akhter, a local resident, expressed her happiness at exchanging waste that would have otherwise polluted the environment for guava and neem saplings to plant in her garden.
Students from Gurudayal Government College also joined the effort, with botany student Md Sakib praising the initiative for raising awareness about plastic pollution and incentivizing environmental cleanliness. The Green Humanity Society, comprised mostly of students, launched the program with the dual goals of reducing plastic waste and encouraging tree planting.
such efforts could help raise awareness about plastic pollution and incentivise people to keep the environment clean.
Following a successful distribution of 500 saplings on August 14, the overwhelming public response led organizers to distribute 1,000 saplings yesterday. Due to the large crowd, they ran out of saplings and now plan to distribute 2,000 in the next phase. The organization, partly funded by its members' personal savings, aims to eventually distribute hundreds of thousands of saplings nationwide, starting with their goal of a plastic-free and greener Kishoreganj.
We have started this journey from Kishoreganj and plan to gradually expand our environmental and humanitarian activities to other districts.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Daily Star in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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