BD Clean: Getting your hands dirty to clean up the country
What started in 2016 as a dream to see a nation free of litter has now turned into a massive volunteer-run, self-funded organisation with 45,000 members nationwide
As the members of BD Clean geared up for another event, donning face masks, gloves, and hairnets, passersby stopped to see what was happening.
On a busy Friday afternoon, when people were gearing up for a holiday, these volunteers spread throughout Shahid Dr Fazle Rabbi Park to clean up the trash. Onlookers were very curious to find out what was driving these volunteers to take on this massive task.
The situation is reminiscent of how Robiul, one of BD Clean's youngest members, joined the team. One day, when the organisation was conducting a similar clean-up program at a place where Robiul goes to play with his friends, he too became a curious onlooker. Later, inspired by the organisation's work, Robiul joined BD Clean roughly over a year ago. Today, the seventh grader regularly attends clean-up programs.
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Robiul's story is one of the many that stand testament to the impact that BD Clean – a volunteer-run organisation – has had on society since its beginning in 2016, with founder Farid Uddin's dream to see a nation free of litter.
The organisation has a meticulous way of working. First, it scouts out dirty areas throughout Bangladesh and selects places it believes have the most potential to spread awareness. Every Friday, the organisation gathers members and volunteers to come together to clean the selected areas.
Today, the organisation has 45,000 active members spread across 500 teams throughout Bangladesh. On average, one team completes 20 projects per month - including cleaning up canals in places such as Noakhali, Bandarban, Sylhet and Tangail.
The organisation has so far completed 12 to 13 mega events as well. In 2023, BD Clean gathered waste such as plastic bottles, cigarette filters, polythene and organised an exhibition using them to create art pieces. The same year, the organisation celebrated its anniversary by planting 3,00,000 trees in two hours, garnering headlines.
Locals, who have normalised seeing waste in these places might question what drives a group of approximately 50-100 common citizens to clean up these areas. The answers the volunteers give only direct you back to their sheer passion of seeing a clean country.
Bannya, a member of BD Clean, shared her motivation, "one of the reasons our country is so hot is pollution. The trash on the ground before us is the cause of pollution. If we can raise awareness, they will avoid throwing the waste on the roads, and one day we will be able to solve this issue."
M Joynal Abedin Shobuj, who is now a zone coordinator of BD Clean in North Badda, Dhaka, mentions his own feelings on the organisation's work, " if our environment does not survive, neither will we. If you think about it, we are creating the problem [of littering] and we are the ones suffering too. While other people might think themselves above such work, we use our hands to pick up the litter and we believe the connection we have made with the land through this act is liberating."
Where whole communities have become desensitised to waste, thinking of litter as a normal part of our country's public spaces, these people work to combat this idea only out of love for the nation.
Alongside cleaner roads, this attitude towards their work is a direct result of BD Clean's awareness initiatives as well. The organisation takes before and after photos of the sites they work on, helping viewers see the potential of our country.
What viewers once thought was impossible, such as cleaner canals, is what the organisation turns into a reality. Many of the members discover BD Clean through these social media posts and reach out to the organisation in hopes to volunteer.
Furthermore, the organisation is not just about cleaning areas. They have a strict code of conduct the members and volunteers have to follow.
Jahirul Islam Robi, the Chief Coordinator of BD Clean, elaborates on this, "There are also a few rules that the members have to follow personally, such as, they cannot litter and they have to follow the laws as a citizen. They also cannot needlessly blame others, such as, if they see water-logged areas in Dhaka, they cannot blame the city corporation, because citizens are the ones who litter and clog drains. They cannot be greedy and they have to look at each other with respect."
The image everyone attaches to the organisation is the green shirt on their backs, which has become a part of their identity. To earn this shirt, the volunteers have to work through at least four events.
"BD Clean helps you as a person as well. We address our younger members like Robiul formally as well. If you think about it, he is learning from this and will carry it on outside of the organisation as well," said Joynal.
Bannya also reflected on how BD Clean has changed her habits, "now when I want to throw something away, I will always throw it in a dustbin. I always think about how if I threw it on the ground, someone else would have to pick it up."
Another interesting aspect of the organisation is that they are self-funded. While passion might drive volunteers to work, they need funds to afford these projects. Most of their events are funded through their own community, instead of seeking donations from outside of the organisation. While they do welcome logistical support from individuals outside the organisation, they do not accept monetary support.
The cost of each event varies depending on the number of participants. An event with a turnout of 50 people will require over Tk5,000 to support the whole group. On average, they raise around Tk96,000 per year to fund these events. Members donate money according to their financial ability, which directly goes to logistics for their projects, such as masks and gloves for the safety of volunteers.
"We do not normally go outside the company for funds, for a few reasons. We work for the country and if we took on sponsorships, we would have to follow the respective company's policies, which could go outside of our company's ethics," explained Jahirul.
He further elaborated that there are a lot of organisations throughout our country but the issues they work on remain unresolved.
"It is because many organisations work without a clear goal. BD Clean is different because with our goal in mind, we will continue to work until we see a solution to the issues we are working towards. We want to prove that BD Clean is a truly volunteer-run organisation," he added.
One problem remains, though. The solution BD Clean has been working towards throughout the years has still a long way to go. Despite taking an active approach towards change, sometimes they find themselves back to square one.
"There have been times when this happens, for example, a canal in Khilgaon, which we cleaned back in 2019. We kept track of it and found out - whether for lack of awareness or otherwise - it went back to its previous state," Jahirul explained.
Jahirul believes BD Clean cannot do this job alone.
"This is a chain system. People lack awareness and alongside that, there is also a lack of monitoring from the authorities. We have to raise awareness, but there should also be consequences for not following the law, such as fines and penalties. If you combine the both, only then can we be successful."
However, this does not mean that BD Clean is not taking a more sustainable approach in order to see change in the long run. In honour of Victory Day, they decided on doing something outside the box.
"For 53 years of victory, we created 53 gardens throughout Bangladesh. We selected 53 dirty spots where people litter, cleaned them up, and put a garden in their place, to discourage people from littering in those places again. We have followed up with members and till now, people are not littering in those places," said Jahirul.
