The Government of Bangladesh has not taken effective measures to implement e-waste management rules introduced more than a year ago, as the relevant rules remain stuck in procedural issues related to the World Trade Organization. While it appears that the DOE is working to control the growing problem of e-waste, closer examination reveals that companies and countries that market electrical and electronic equipment are trying to slow down implementation of the rule. In Bangladesh, recent progress has been made in improving waste management, particularly in urban cities. In Dhaka, the Dhaka City Corporation, with support from the Japan International Companies Agency (JICA), has a master plan underway to better manage waste management in Dhaka. [9] For example, Social Business Enterprise Waste Concern was created to address the problem of municipal waste accumulation by working with households. UNICEF has also launched recycling and waste control programmes with municipal enterprises and communities. [9] However, incentives are currently insufficient to improve the level of waste management in all relevant sectors, in particular for industrial and medical waste. By 2020, effectively regulate fisheries and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices, and implement science-based management plans to restore fish stocks as soon as possible, at least to levels capable of producing maximum sustainable yield in accordance with their biological characteristics. In 2012, research by the International Labour Office (ILO) showed that chemicals, which are critically important in e-waste, have a negative impact on human health. It can cause diseases such as cancer, asthma, nervous breakdowns, hearing problems, vision problems, infant mortality and disability, and more. It also causes air pollution, water pollution, land pollution and poses a threat to wildlife. It took the government nearly 10 years to introduce the e-waste management rule on June 10, 2021, after the first draft was created in 2011. The Department of Environmental Protection (DOE) has set a goal of eliminating at least 50 percent of its e-waste in five years and 10 percent in the first year.

Lundgren, K. (2012). The Global Impact of E-Waste: Meeting the Challenge, Page: 58-59. Retrieved from www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_dialogue/-sektor/documents/publication/wcms_196105.pdf The baseline study found that Bangladesh produced 0.31 million tonnes of e-waste (not counting ship dismantling as e-waste) at a growth rate of 20%. The total waste collection rate in major Bangladeshi cities such as Dhaka is only 37%. If waste is not collected properly, it is dumped illegally, posing a serious threat to the environment and the health of Bangladeshis. [5] Hossain, S., Sulatan, S., Shahnaz, F., Akram, A. B., Nesa, M., & Happell, J. (2010).

Study on electronic waste: situation in Bangladesh. Excerpt from the website of the Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO: www.env.go.jp/recycle/circul/venous_industry/pdf/env/h27/02_4.pdf According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2017, Europe was the world`s second largest producer of e-waste in 2017 with 12.3 million tonnes of e-waste and an annual growth rate of 3-5%. Europe also has the highest collection rate (35%) for e-waste collection. According to a 2010 report by the Environment and Social Development Organization, more than 15 percent of child labourers in Bangladesh die each year during and after the effects of e-waste recycling, and more than 83 percent are exposed to toxic substances, get sick, and live with long-term illnesses. Banner image: E-waste management in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Image via MaxPixel (public domain). « As a result, we do not gain from recycling e-waste, and the government does not receive adequate taxes, » he added. If Bangladesh had started disposing of e-waste in 2021, this would have amounted to about 0.54 million tonnes of e-waste. If the country had started this year, it would have faced 0.64 million tonnes. In four years, the DOE will have to process 1.33 million tons, including e-waste accumulated from previous years. The report adds that only 3% of waste is recycled, so the actual number could be higher than expected. Baldé, C.P., Forti V., Gray, V., Kuehr, R., Stegmann, P.

(2017). The Global E-Waste Monitor – 2017. United Nations University (UNU), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/Vienna. Accessed by: www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Climate-Change/Documents/GEM%202017/Global-E-waste%20Monitor%202017%20.pdf Any violation of the above provisions is punishable by imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 200,000 taka (approximately 270,000 yen) or both. The regulation also includes provisions for solid waste treatment, such as composting and energy recovery. Bangladesh is the ninth most populous country and the twelfth most populous country in the world. In particular, the projected growth rate of the urban population from 2010 to 2015 is 3%. [1] With this population growth, there is a growing problem of waste management, especially in large cities. According to a UNFPA report, Dhaka is currently one of the most polluted cities in the world, and one of the issues involved is municipal waste management. For solid waste such as paper, cardboard, metal, plastics, PET bottles and electronic waste, no initiatives have been taken to ensure environmentally friendly recycling.

But since 2018, there has been a local startup called BD Recycle (www.bdrecycle.com) that is working on digitizing and organizing solid waste recycling. BD Recycle has a web app and an Android app to buy waste from businesses, homes and factories. BD Recycle collects the waste, then sorts it and sends it to a recycler at the end of the factory that ensures sustainable recycling. [2] « E-waste is not currently on the DOE priority list. We are very busy with plastic pollution and others, » said Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director of the Department of Waste and Chemicals Management at the Ministry of Environment. Low waste management exposes Dhaka communities to landfills by 2030, increasing economic benefits for small island developing States and least developed countries through the sustainable use of marine resources, including through the sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism. One of the most harmful effects of poor waste management, especially municipal waste, is the emergence and prevalence of diseases such as malaria and respiratory problems. and other diseases caused by groundwater contamination.