Environment Minister says ban on all types of lunch sheets on the cards

By Ifham Nizam

A ban on all types of lunch sheets will come into effect shortly, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera announced.

Sri Lanka is the only country in the world that use lunch sheets, which is a major environmental polluter, he noted.

The Environment Ministry is working on the countrywide ban, which will come into effect in due course, he told The Sunday Island.

The Minister said four major companies produce between seven and eight tons of lunch sheets per month. This boils down to more than 100 tons being used annually.

“I have asked the Ministry to expedite the process of banning all types of lunch sheets”,  Amaraweera further said.\

It was former President Maithripala Sirisena, who was also the then Minister of Environment, who initiated the banning of lunch sheets in 2016. However, major producers promised to introduce biodegradable alternatives, but it never happened, the Minister recalled.

Scientific studies have shown that these lunch sheets decompose in the soil and disintegrate within two to three years. Nevertheless, the micro-plastic particles that accumulate in the soil as a result last for more than 200 years.

Manufacturing companies were advised to introduce alternatives to lunch sheets but they have not taken any action so far, the Minister said.