In 2002, Bangladesh became the first country in the world to ban the production, import, marketing and use of polythene bags, a type of single-use plastic bag. The ban, made through the Bangladesh Environment Conservation (Amendment) Act, was seen as a major environmental milestone. Yet by 2020, per capita plastic consumption had tripled from 3 kg in 2002 to 9 kg, according to a 2021 World Bank study.
For the riverine country, plastic pollution worsened flooding, clogged drainage systems and contaminated waterways. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority estimates that 12-13 feet of plastic waste now sits at the bottom of the Buriganga River, a lifeline for the capital, Dhaka.
As Bangladesh’s new government, in power since October 2024, launches a renewed crackdown on plastic bags, it is worth examining why the original ban failed, what lessons can be learned, and whether the new act can succeed.
Civic activism pushed political parties to act
The 2002 polythene ban stemmed from sustained pressure by environmental activists and civil society groups. Shahriar Hossain, secretary-general of the Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO), an NGO, recalls how early advocacy efforts mobilised public support.
“In 1992, we organised a rally in Dhaka against polythene, which significantly raised public awareness,” Hossain tells Dialogue Earth. “Jute mill workers, in particular, backed the movement.” (Jute is a type of fibrous plant cultivated for use as a textile.)
Political reactions were mixed. ASM Hannan Shah, Bangladesh’s Minister of Jute from 1991 to 1996 under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, supported a three-year phase-out plan, advocating for jute, cloth, cane and paper alternatives. In contrast, Mohammad Hanif, the Awami League’s candidate for the mayoralty of Dhaka, opposed closing polythene factories in old Dhaka, the city’s historic quarters and home to a large number of factories. His victory in 1994 signalled the political challenges ahead, culminating in the rule of the Awami League government from 1996 to 2001.
A major shift in policy finally came when the BNP returned to power in October 2001 and imposed a full ban on single-use polythene bags (under 20 microns thick) – first in Dhaka, then nationwide. However, by then, political tensions between the BNP and the Awami League had escalated. The Awami League boycotted parliament, alleging election rigging in 2001, and refused to participate in the legislative process when the law was passed.
Political turmoil erodes gains
When the ban took effect in January 2002, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) launched mobile court operations, led by judicial magistrates, to prosecute offenders on the spot. According to an internal MoE report seen by Dialogue Earth, officials conducted 80 mobile court proceedings, filing 1,369 cases between December 2003 and February 2007. A second wave of enforcement, between October 2009 and May 2010, saw 14 mobile court proceedings and 168 cases filed.
Initially, the crackdown pushed consumers toward eco-friendly alternatives. Ziaur Rahman Khan, a jute research officer at the Directorate of Jute, notes that internal records show demand for the plant fibre rose from 577 million kg in the 2002-2003 period to 624 million kg the following year. This highlighted jute’s potential as an alternative, with huge economic incentives for Bangladesh – the second largest jute producer in the world.
A worker transports paddy from a rice mill near Kalihati, a village 120 kilometres north-west of Dhaka, in jute bags on his bicycle (Image: Joerg Boethling / Alamy)
The ban’s success was short-lived, however, as Bangladesh’s volatile political landscape undermined enforcement.
In January 2007, an army-backed caretaker government took control. In July 2008, it legalised thicker polythene bags for specific industries, including 50-micron bags for sugar packaging and 35- and 55-micron polythene bags for the fishing industry.
“These two circulars opened the floodgates for the polythene industry,” says Md. Ziaul Haque, an MoE director who had been part of the government’s 2002 anti-polythene taskforce.
The impact was immediate: demand for jute dropped from 728 million kg in 2007-2008 to 623 million kg in 2008-2009, according to unpublished figures from the Directorate of Jute, seen by Dialogue Earth.
The unravelling of a ban
The Awami League returned to power in January 2009, and by August, it authorised 40-micron polythene bags for use in tea plant nurseries, according to the MoE report. This marked the beginning of a gradual rollback of the 2002 ban.
Over the next decade, enforcement continued to weaken. Although political instability was a factor, industry influence played an even bigger role in reversing the ban. The jute industry faced another setback in 2018, when Golam Dastagir Gazi, a plastic industry figurehead, was appointed Minister of Textiles and Jute by the Awami League. During his tenure, 25 jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation were shut down, further consolidating the plastic industry’s dominance.
Between 2021 and 2023, business figures from the plastics sector held influential positions within key trade bodies, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The coronavirus pandemic accelerated polythene use, with heightened demand for disposable packaging boosting industry growth. During this time, manufacturing of single-use plastics expanded through decentralised factories, contributing to the erosion of the ban.
Customers and vendors are still seen using polythene bags in various markets in Dhaka in November 2024 despite polythene bags being banned in Bangladesh that month (Image: SK Hasan Ali / Alamy)
Following violent protests related to jobs quotas, in which hundreds were killed, the Awami League was ousted in August 2024.
Ijaz Hossain, a professor of energy and environmental studies at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, says that while the party was not opposed to banning polythene, it avoided promoting a policy initiated by its rival, the BNP. Instead, the Awami League “enacted the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act (2010) to stop plastic and nylon sack use,” Hossain tells Dialogue Earth. “That was a positive move, but they should have enforced the polythene ban alongside promoting jute alternatives.”
According to Iqbal Habib, vice president of civil society movement Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bangladesh Environment Movement), enforcement collapsed over time: “In 2002-2003, polythene bags were nowhere to be found – people overwhelmingly supported the ban. But the next government failed to properly enforce it, even though they dared not repeal it.”
Khan explains that while the 2010 jute packaging law aimed to promote sustainable alternatives, enforcement was slow: “It took three years to draft the rules [needed to implement the law]; the government took three more years just to implement it in 2016,” he says, a delay that weakened its impact.
Despite Bangladesh’s new government reintroducing a crackdown on plastic, progress remains limited. Md. Sawqat Ali, an MoE director, admits that since October 2024, only seven polythene factories have been shut down. “In many cases, when we go to inspect polythene factories, people assemble and block our operations,” he says.
The dense urban layout of old Dhaka also complicates enforcement, notes Ali: “Narrow alleys mean our law enforcement agencies cannot go with vehicles. The area is so densely populated that detecting illegal [polythene] factories is difficult.” Days after speaking to Dialogue Earth, he was attacked on 26 January during a raid on an illegal plastic factory.
With any new plastic ban, pricing is critical
With consumer habits reverting from jute to plastic, pricing will be critical for a renewed ban to succeed, says Md. Farhad Ahmed Akanda, president of the Bangladesh Jute Association. “The success of any ban will depend on the pricing of jute bags vis-à-vis polythene bags,” he tells Dialogue Earth.
The pricing gap is evident in local markets. In Dhaka’s Duaripara market, a low-income area, fruit seller Muhammad Yunus describes the reliance on plastic: “Out of hundreds of customers, only one brings a jute or cloth bag,” he says.
For vendors, polythene bags are an unavoidable business expense. Yunus spends BDT 200 (USD 1.65) per day on the bags, which cuts into his profits. Charging customers for more expensive jute bags is not an option, as many cannot afford the additional costs, he notes.
To make jute viable for both vendors and customers, Akanda suggests subsidising jute bags to bring costs down in line with that of polythene bags. “Currently, polythene bags are given free, while a jute bag costs BDT 40 (USD 0.33)… consumers will not spend BDT 40 for a jute bag,” he says, adding that while plastic bags have a short lifespan, a single jute bag can last for years, making them a smarter long-term investment.
The pushback has already begun, with the plastics industry lobbying to delay the ban until 2030, warning of protests, job losses and economic disruption.
The ultimate test for Bangladesh’s new anti-plastic policy will be whether the government can hold its nerve and learn from past failures, closing enforcement gaps, subsidising alternatives and resisting industry pressure to break polythene’s dominance.