In the last few years, Bangladesh has witnessed many eco-friendly inventions that have opened scopes for a greener environment. For this week, we have listed the top three eco-friendly inventions and how they work.
The Sonali Bag
- Bangladesh started its journey to ban Polythene bags back in 2002.
- However, authorities failed to carry out the ban completely due to the absence of an alternative.
- In collaboration with other researchers from Bangladesh, Mubarak Ahmad Khan (a scientist at Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission) developed a natural fiber composite (NFC) as an alternative to polythene.
- In 2018 the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation started the commercial production of this Sonali bag.
- The bag is a cellulose-based biodegradable plastic (extracted from jute) which is an alternative to polythene bags.
- The invention has opened new opportunities for the jute industries in Bangladesh.
Botol Bati
- Alfredo Moser, a Brazilian innovator worked with a group of MIT students to produce a 55-watt solar bulb using the refraction of sunlight with the help of old plastic bottles.
- Back in 2012, Sajid Iqbal was kindled by Moser’s innovation and created what we call ‘Botol Bati’.
- He founded CHANGE in 2013, an organization that aims to eradicate poverty and stand beside the poor in Bangladesh.
- The technology requires plastic bottles to be filled with water and bleach to eliminate algae from turning the water green over the course of time.
- The bottles are then filled with chlorine and clean water and installed on the roof of the houses.
- When the sun ray hits the bottle, they war as a mirror in the roof, refracting light and offering a natural bulb during the day.
- The technology is environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and very easy to make.
Eco-Coolers
- Bangladesh is a flood-prone nation for which most people in the rural regions build homes out of tin instead of cool mud houses.
- It is estimated that over 70% of Bengalis in the rural regions live in huts made of tin.
- The problem rises as tins get unbearably hot in summer especially in northern and central Bangladesh.
- Ashish Paul, a Bangladeshi inventor came up with an innovative way to draw cool air into rural homes by using plastic water bottles.
- The process to make an Ec0-cooler is very simple. One needs to cut plastic bottles in half and mount them on aboard.
- The board can then be placed over a window with the bottlenecks facing inside the house.
- As of today, over 25,000 households in Bangladesh have installed eco-friendly air conditioners.
By the end of the new year, we hope to adopt more green technologies.