(BSS)- Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today urged the authorities of universities to ensure plastic-free campuses through student engagement, awareness campaigns, and access to sustainable alternatives.

“A generation that moves away from excessive convenience, will not only reduce harmful plastic consumption but also help revive local industries like jute, strengthen the national economy and promote environmentally responsible production,” she said.

She made these remarks while speaking joining virtually from his residence at the Awareness Building and Dissemination Campaign on “Sustainable Plastic-Free Marine Environment”, organized under the Sustainable Capacity Building to Reduce Reversible Pollution by Plastics (SCIP Plastics) project by CUET at Radisson Blu Chattogram Bay View.

She encouraged involving students, especially girls, in producing paper, jute, or cloth bags.

Rizwana said that shifting from plastic to sustainable alternatives will require time, effort, and a fundamental change in consumer behaviour.

She noted that the consumption pattern, developed over decades, cannot be reversed overnight.

She added that achieving plastic-free campuses by eliminating single-use plastics and other avoidable plastic items will likewise require sustained institutional commitment.

Commenting on the widespread use of single-use plastics, the Environment Adviser said that consumer dependence is driven largely by convenience and the misconception that such products come “free.” In reality, plastic production incurs significant costs—including labour, electricity, imported machinery, and raw materials—and the hidden price is ultimately paid by the environment and ecosystems, she added.

Rizwana Hasan commended the host institution for successfully implementing the four-year project and encouraged its planned extension.

She emphasized that today’s educational interventions would shape tomorrow’s environmental outcomes and stressed the importance of teaching students about the sustainable lifestyles of earlier generations, as well as the economic and ecological benefits of moving away from single-use plastics.

She noted that alternatives already exist for most single-use plastic items, except for some products like disposable pens, where fully sustainable substitutes are still evolving. Bangladesh is uniquely positioned with easy access to jute, cloth, and other local materials that can replace plastic in daily life. Rising student engagement on plastic alternatives is an encouraging sign of progress, she said.

She warned that although recycling is often promoted as a solution, it is energy-intensive and chemically complex. Therefore, Bangladesh must focus on reducing plastic use, redesigning plastic products for easier recycling, and enforcing extended producer responsibility, she said.

She pointed to global practices—such as mandatory payment for shopping bags, bottle deposit-return systems, and strict regulatory actions—that Bangladesh could adapt.

She emphasized that the country must modernize its waste management system to address all forms of waste, with plastics requiring specific attention due to their non-biodegradable nature.

Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (CUET) Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mahmud Abdul Matin Bhuiyan and Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET) Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Md. Maksud Helali, addressed the event as guests of honour.

Prof. Dr. Asiful Hoque, Dean, Faculty of Civil and Environment Engineering, CUET; Dr. Fahmida Khanom, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Prof. Dr. Md. Reaz Akter Mullick, Head, Department of Civil Engineering, CUET addressed the programme as special guests.

The programme’s Chief Patron was Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Kraft, Project Lead, SCIP Plastics Project, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (BUW), Germany, and the session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Mst. Farzana Rahman Zuthi, Scientific Director, SCIP Plastics Project, Department of Civil Engineering, CUET.