Dhaka Sitting on a Plastic Bomb: Issues and Concerns around Waste Governance, Water Quality, and Public Health
Plastic, an offer of modernity, has become one of the essential parts of our everyday life. However, it is presenting a massive threat in altered forms, to our health and environment. Plastic does not only pollute the surface environment, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, but toxic elements release...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Earth |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4834/3/1/2 |
| _version_ | 1797471921272520704 |
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| author | Md Nadiruzzaman Hosna Jahan Shewly Afsana Afrin Esha |
| author_facet | Md Nadiruzzaman Hosna Jahan Shewly Afsana Afrin Esha |
| author_sort | Md Nadiruzzaman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plastic, an offer of modernity, has become one of the essential parts of our everyday life. However, it is presenting a massive threat in altered forms, to our health and environment. Plastic does not only pollute the surface environment, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, but toxic elements released from plastics also percolate down the surface and contaminate groundwater, which we often use as ‘safe’ drinking water. This probable future risk is deeply rooted in the entire governance infrastructure of plastic waste which could potentially lead to contamination of groundwater. Thus, a state-sponsored ‘safe drinking water’ initiative could contrarily produce a ‘risk society’. A recent study finds 81% of tap water samples collected worldwide contained plastic pollutants, which means that annually we may be ingesting between 3000 and 4000 microparticles of plastic from tap water. Based on review, ethnographic observations and interviews, and lived experience in a plastic-wrapped city (Dhaka), this paper sheds light on the complex interface of plastic, water, and public health, on the relevance of Beck’s ‘risk society’ to understand this complexity, and on replicating the idea of ‘risk society’ in the case of Bangladesh. Through understanding the plastic–groundwater–waste management nexus, this paper highlights and advocates for a new strategy of plastic governance in modern states. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:54:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-45bfdff43a4243b4af37aa1b9a29e50f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4834 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:54:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth |
| spelling | doaj.art-45bfdff43a4243b4af37aa1b9a29e50f2023-11-24T00:58:22ZengMDPI AGEarth2673-48342022-01-0131183010.3390/earth3010002Dhaka Sitting on a Plastic Bomb: Issues and Concerns around Waste Governance, Water Quality, and Public HealthMd Nadiruzzaman0Hosna Jahan Shewly1Afsana Afrin Esha2Research Group Climate Change and Security (CLISEC), Institute of Geography, Center for Earth System, Research and Sustainability (CEN), University of Hamburg, 20144 Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Social and Cultural Sciences, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, 36037 Fulda, GermanyInternational Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Dhaka 1229, BangladeshPlastic, an offer of modernity, has become one of the essential parts of our everyday life. However, it is presenting a massive threat in altered forms, to our health and environment. Plastic does not only pollute the surface environment, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, but toxic elements released from plastics also percolate down the surface and contaminate groundwater, which we often use as ‘safe’ drinking water. This probable future risk is deeply rooted in the entire governance infrastructure of plastic waste which could potentially lead to contamination of groundwater. Thus, a state-sponsored ‘safe drinking water’ initiative could contrarily produce a ‘risk society’. A recent study finds 81% of tap water samples collected worldwide contained plastic pollutants, which means that annually we may be ingesting between 3000 and 4000 microparticles of plastic from tap water. Based on review, ethnographic observations and interviews, and lived experience in a plastic-wrapped city (Dhaka), this paper sheds light on the complex interface of plastic, water, and public health, on the relevance of Beck’s ‘risk society’ to understand this complexity, and on replicating the idea of ‘risk society’ in the case of Bangladesh. Through understanding the plastic–groundwater–waste management nexus, this paper highlights and advocates for a new strategy of plastic governance in modern states.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4834/3/1/2Dhakaplasticwaste governancedrinking waterpublic healthrisk society |
| spellingShingle | Md Nadiruzzaman Hosna Jahan Shewly Afsana Afrin Esha Dhaka Sitting on a Plastic Bomb: Issues and Concerns around Waste Governance, Water Quality, and Public Health Earth Dhaka plastic waste governance drinking water public health risk society |
| title | Dhaka Sitting on a Plastic Bomb: Issues and Concerns around Waste Governance, Water Quality, and Public Health |
| title_full | Dhaka Sitting on a Plastic Bomb: Issues and Concerns around Waste Governance, Water Quality, and Public Health |
| title_fullStr | Dhaka Sitting on a Plastic Bomb: Issues and Concerns around Waste Governance, Water Quality, and Public Health |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dhaka Sitting on a Plastic Bomb: Issues and Concerns around Waste Governance, Water Quality, and Public Health |
| title_short | Dhaka Sitting on a Plastic Bomb: Issues and Concerns around Waste Governance, Water Quality, and Public Health |
| title_sort | dhaka sitting on a plastic bomb issues and concerns around waste governance water quality and public health |
| topic | Dhaka plastic waste governance drinking water public health risk society |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4834/3/1/2 |
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