Saplings in Exchange for Plastic: Pakundia Initiative Draws Enthusiastic Response

Hand in plastic waste, and you get a tree sapling in return. The volunteer social organisation "Proyas" of Pakundia in Kishoreganj has taken this unusual initiative to curb plastic pollution and encourage tree planting.

At the "Trees in Exchange for Plastic" programme held on Friday afternoon at the Pakundia Sadar Eidgah field, around 700 fruit, forest and medicinal tree saplings were distributed.

The rule was simple: deposit three plastic bottles, or a set amount of plastic waste, and receive one sapling. Men, women, students and children from all walks of life turned up carrying plastic bottles and other plastic waste they had stored at home. The unusual initiative drew an enthusiastic response from local residents.

According to the organisers, the indiscriminate use of plastic and polythene, and the habit of throwing them anywhere, has become a major threat to the environment. Rather than limiting themselves to awareness speeches, they wanted to ensure people's direct participation so that a positive change in plastic waste management could be achieved.

At the programme, leaders of the organisation and local dignitaries highlighted the importance of proper plastic waste management, recycling and tree planting in protecting the environment. They said protecting the environment is not the responsibility of any single person or organisation; it is everyone's collective duty. Habits must be built — depositing plastic waste in designated places, separating recyclable waste, and planting more trees.

Abir, a ninth-grade student who took part in the programme, received two saplings in exchange for six plastic bottles. He said the initiative would raise awareness about plastic waste in society on one hand, and help maintain environmental balance through tree planting on the other. Trees give us oxygen, flowers and fruit, and keep the environment beautiful, he said, thanking Proyas for the exceptional initiative.

Ayesha, a homemaker, joined the programme with 12 plastic bottles. She said plastic bottles and polythene used at home are often thrown here and there, harming the environment. She had seen on Facebook that saplings would be given in exchange for bottles here, so she came — and was delighted to receive her sapling.

The organisation's convener, Nurul Jannat Manna, said: "We organised the 'Trees in Exchange for Plastic' programme under Proyas's initiative. Its main objective is to create awareness among people about proper plastic waste management and to encourage everyone to protect the environment by planting more trees. Under this programme we distributed around 700 saplings. We received an unprecedented response from participants. This response will inspire us to continue such initiatives in the future."

Pakundia municipal BNP president ASM Minhaz Uddin said good work always invites criticism, but such criticism should be ignored and public-awareness initiatives should be carried forward. He praised the Proyas initiative for protecting the environment.

Former Bangladesh Bank executive director Mahfuzur Rahman said plastic and polythene are a long-term threat to the environment. Such waste can take hundreds of years to decompose in soil. Not only in Bangladesh, plastic waste is reaching rivers and seas in different countries of the world and damaging the environment, he said, stressing the need for proper management instead of throwing plastic anywhere.

The organisers said that, buoyed by this response, they plan to hold similar programmes on a bigger scale in the future. Alongside collecting plastic waste, they are also thinking about following up to ensure the distributed saplings are cared for as they grow.

Environmentalists say awareness campaigns alone can hardly stop plastic pollution; incentive-based participation like the Pakundia initiative can change people's habits. If this simple exchange — greenery for waste — spreads, positive change in plastic waste management could come everywhere, from villages to cities, those concerned believe.