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Global and Bangladesh Perspective on Covid-19 Plastic Pollution: A Hindrance in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals
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This review examined how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted plastic waste management globally and in Bangladesh, exacerbating existing challenges in controlling plastic pollution. The authors argue that increased use of plastic PPE combined with reduced waste management capacity during the pandemic could threaten progress toward UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.1 on marine pollution.
In the current COVID-19 pandemic, besides the millions of deaths and economic stagnation, isolation, and psychological stress, the global environment faces a new challenge; How to deal with plastic pollution? Before the pandemic, the world was already facing challenges in dealing with the huge amount of plastic waste, where over 70 percent was not managed and just thrown in the ocean, threatening the aquatic environment and its habitats. Now, due to the pandemic, plastic consumption will increase as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) consists of plastics. However, there are no plastic waste management initiatives to deal with the huge amount of waste generated due to the pandemic. In this paper, I will highlight the disruption of plastic waste management due to COVID-19 from the perspective of global and Bangladesh, how plastic pollution is harmful to both land and aquatic environments,and how there are possibilities of not meeting SDG-14.1 in 2025 due to the climate funding gap. Lastly, the paper will also provide recommendations and further possible areas of improvement in plastic waste management.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.