Rows of nearly 4,000 mango, guava, jackfruit and malta saplings were lined up, and no money was needed to take one, only plastic bottles. Teachers and students got saplings by handing in unused bottles from their rooms or bags, and many picked up bottles lying around to exchange. This was the scene at Chittagong University on Thursday, 27 July.

The student social organisation Uddipto Bangladesh held the event at 3pm at the university's Zero Point to protect the environment and raise awareness about reducing plastic use. Its president Hasibul Khan, general secretary Shanto Reza Sabbir and other members were present.

The event drew a strong response. Many students brought plastic bottles piled up in their hall rooms, and ordinary people living around the campus were also seen handing in plastic and taking saplings.

Enamul Raihan, a student of the Philosophy Department, handed in many bottles for four saplings. He told Jagonews that a friend called to say saplings were being given in exchange for plastic at the station, so he brought the bottles lying in his room. He plans to plant them beside his cottage, and said programmes like this help build awareness about plastic.

Shahidul Islam Shahid, founding president of the Chittagong University Environment Council, said 73,000 tonnes of plastic waste enter the sea every day, and canals, beels and drains are all being ruined by plastic. Awareness is therefore vital, he said; otherwise the environment cannot be saved, and if the environment does not survive, neither will we. Such events to raise caution about plastic are commendable.

Hasibul Khan, organiser of the programme and president of Uddipto Bangladesh, told Jagonews the aim was a clean, pollution-free, green Bangladesh with less plastic use. Because cutting plastic use is not easy, awareness is needed, and plastic should be thrown in designated places rather than anywhere. "We distributed 4,000 saplings today. The event will run for a month, and we plan to plant and distribute 10,000 trees in total to protect the environment."

Uddipto Bangladesh was founded by university students in February 2019. Since then it has helped students with admissions and run book-exchange festivals, technology training, a "wall of humanity", blood donation and other activities.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.