Sachets of shampoo, hair gel and hair dye banned from next month

By Ifham Nizam

Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera announced, on Wednesday, that they would ban sachets of shampoo, hair gel and hair dyes, from the beginning of next month. However, sachets of medicine and food will be allowed.

Annually, Sri Lankans used shampoos, hair gels and hair dyes in sachets worth over Rs. 960 million and they posed a serious threat to the environment, the Minister said.

Discussions had held with those currently engaged in the business on the ban, the Minister said. Manufacturers had been asked to make those sachets as environmentally friendly as possible.

“People discard sachets irresponsibly. Often water sources such as rivers and streams are clogged and the aquatic life is also affected. I realised the magnitude of the problem when I was told by a representative of a company that they had imported five billion sachets,” he said.

Amaraweera said that some companies had requested a grace period. However such a period couldn’t be given considering the gravity of the problem. “This law wasn’t brought in to inconvenience these companies but to protect the environment. Companies have made a lot of money and they must invest some of the profits in introducing environmentally friendly packaging.