Trading plastic for daily essentials

To reduce plastic pollution in Bangladesh and support underprivileged communities, Bidyanondo Foundation and Standard Chartered Bank have jointly launched a plastic exchange store in Gazipur’s Gacha upazila.
The store was inaugurated at an event today, with over 300 families turning in plastic scraps to buy daily essentials like rice and eggs.
Around 3 tonnes of used plastic was collected today which will be processed and recycled, said the foundation’s vice president Farooq Ahmed.
This initiative aims at limiting plastic pollution while allowing impoverished communities to obtain essential items through the exchange process, positively impacting their daily lives.
“I collected and turned in about 10 kilos of plastic. In return, I received goods worth Tk 700-800, which will cover my family’s needs for around two weeks,” said Fatema Begum, a local homemaker.