Old and unusable plastic waste is being exchanged for food items such as rice, lentils, flour, eggs, salt and cooking oil under an initiative aimed at tackling plastic pollution while supporting low-income communities.
Children also received notebooks, pens, pencils and school bags in the programme organised by volunteer organisation Bidyanondo Foundation, which set up a temporary “Plastic Exchange Store” in Dhaka’s Korail slum in Gulshan on Wednesday.
The day-long campaign, held from 10am to 4pm, allowed residents to deposit plastic waste in exchange for tokens, which could then be used to collect essential goods. Organisers said around 280 families participated, collectively depositing nearly one tonne of plastic waste.
According to volunteers, one kilogramme of plastic was exchanged for a token. The number of tokens received determined the quantity and type of goods participants could collect.
No direct relief distribution was carried out in the campaign. Instead, goods were provided strictly based on the amount of plastic submitted.
Organisers said items ranged from salt, semolina and biscuits for one-taka tokens, to notebooks, T-shirts, chickpeas, toast biscuits and sugar for two-taka tokens, while school bags and soybean oil were available for six-taka tokens.
Bidyanondo volunteers said the initiative aims to raise awareness on waste management while also creating access to essential goods for low-income families.
Prior announcements through loudspeaker campaigns were made in advance so residents could collect and store plastic waste.
The “Plastic Exchange Store” initiative was first launched on St Martin’s Island on 12 December 2022, as part of efforts to address environmental degradation caused by tourist-generated plastic waste.
Since then, the organisation says it has collected and recycled around 10 million plastic bottles from the island.
Bidyanondo Board Director Md Jamal Uddin said plastic pollution has emerged as one of the biggest environmental challenges of the 21st century, urging collective action to protect nature and wildlife.
He said the initiative has become an example of a grassroots circular economy model, linking environmental protection with social welfare and poverty reduction.
The foundation collects and sells the recovered plastic to recycling companies, using the proceeds to fund the programme.
With support from Standard Chartered Bangladesh, Bidyanondo expanded the Plastic Exchange campaign nationwide in June 2024, organising 450 camps across the country.
The organisation also runs awareness activities such as “Plastic Monster”, “Plastic Ocean” campaigns and photography exhibitions to highlight the harmful impact of plastic pollution among tourists and local communities.
