Next ban on non-degradable lunch sheets?

By Ifham Nizam

Sri Lanka had imported USD 611 million worth of plastics in 2020, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said at a recent discussion.

During the discussion with the Centre for Environmental Justice, he said that United Nations COMTRADE Database had given the above data.

A group of environmentalists from the CEJ joined the discussion on the environmental damage caused by plastic materials and polythene.

The discussion also focused on other remaining forests to be taken over by the Sinharaja Forest Zone and human activities contributing to the environmental damage in the vicinity of the Sinharaja Forest.

The Minister said that polythene and plastics accounted for much of the current environmental damage here. Some 300,000 tonnes of plastics materials were imported annually. Of this, only 7.1 percent was recycled.

He explained that the remaining 92.9 percent was released into the environment.

The ban on single-use sachets was now 100% successful due to the Ministry of Environment’s decision to ban several products to reduce the use of polythene and plastic, Minister Amaraweera claimed.

The Minister also said that steps would be taken to eradicate the use of non-biodegradable lunch sheets in the country within the next three months.