Dhaka, Oct. 5 -- Adviser on Environment, Forests and Climate Change Syeda Rizwana Hassan has said the journey to phase out single-use plastics (SUP) from government offices has officially begun with the Bangladesh Secretariat.

"With regular monitoring, the Secretariat would be completely free of single-use plastics by January 1, 2026. The use of plastic water bottles and other single-use items will be phased out by December next," she told a press briefing in the Secretariat today.

Rizwana Hasan noted that use of single-use plastics has not been banned yet in Bangladesh. However, the government is actively discouraging their use. Several embassies and universities have already declared their campuses free of single-use plastics, she add...