The useless thing is not always useless. Water hyacinth is no exception in this regard. It can be used as a raw material in paper industry instead of wood pulp. It can be used for various purposes.

Water hyacinth is an aquatic plant. It grows in watery places. It is very common in our country. Bangladesh is a land of rivers. In addition to rivers, there are beels, haors, canals, ponds, etc. in our country. There are seven species of water hyacinth. It is a free floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical & sub tropical south America. Water hyacinth has been widely introduced throughout North America, Australia, Asia and  Africa.

In the Philippines,   some of the water hyacinth's stems  are used to form strands of string . These pieces of string are woven or interlinked together to form a braid or cord used for making bags, footwear, wreaths, hats, vases , and Christmas lanterns. Water hyacinth remains a major problem where effective control programs are not in place. Water hyacinth is often problematic in man-made ponds if uncontrolled, but can also provide a food source for gold fish, keep water clean and help to provide oxygen to man-made ponds.

Water hyacinth often invades bodies of water that have been impacted by human activities. For example, the plants can unbalance natural lifecycles in artificial reservoirs or in eutrophied lakes that receive large amounts of nutrients.

There are other uses being found for the abundant plants, such as for cattle food and in biogas production. Recently, they have also begun to be used in wastewater treatment due to their fast growth and ability to tolerate high levels of pollution. Parts of the plant are also used in the production of traditional handicrafts in Southeast Asia. In Bangladesh, farmers have started producing fertilizer using Water Hyacinth or Kochuripana .

There is no unmixed blessing in the world. The useless thing is not always useless. Water hyacinth is no exception in this regard. It can be used as a raw material in paper industry instead of wood pulp. It can be used for various purposes. It can be made into fertilizer. It can be made into furniture.

It has spread prolifically, due to lack of natural enemies, an abundance of space, agreeable temperature conditions, and abundant nutrients . It increased rapidly between 1992–1998, was greatly reduced by 2001, and has since resurged to a lesser degree. Management techniques include (hyacinth-eating) insect controls and manual beach cleanup efforts . A water hyacinth infestation is seldom totally eradicated. Instead, it is a situation that must be continually managed.

The effects on transportation and fishing are immediately felt. Where the weed is prolific, there is a general increase in several diseases, as the weed creates excellent breeding areas for mosquitoes and other insects. There are increased incidents of skin rash, cough, malaria, encephalitis, bilharzias, gastro intestinal disorders, and schistosomiasis. Water hyacinth also interferes with water treatment, irrigation, and water supply . It can smother aquatic life by deoxygenating the water, and it reduces nutrients for young fish in sheltered bays. It has blocked supply intakes for the hydroelectric plant, interrupting electrical power for entire cities. The weed also interrupts local subsistence fishing, blocking access to the beaches.