Sleeping on plastic mats injurious to people’s health

by Ifham Nizam

Sleeping on plastic mats was injurious to people’s health, the Environment Ministry said yesterday, quoting experts who had pointed out that plastic mats heated up during sleep, producing carbon dioxide.

Plastic mats were a serious environmental problem and when they were discarded after use because they did not decompose even after 100 years, a Ministry official  said.

Although it was necessary to ban plastic mats, it was not easy to find an alternative, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera pointed out.

There was a problem in obtaining reeds for producing traditional mats, the Minister said.

“It has been revealed that many native reeds in our country have become extinct due to the excessive use of agrochemicals,” he added.

Local weavers use reeds such as thunhiriya and galleha to weave mats. They do not grow. Therefore, several industrialists have requested the Ministry to provide lands for the cultivation of these reeds.

“Two companies in our country sell one billion shopping bags a year, increasing environmental pollution. Ninety-eight percent of discarded shopping bags and lunch sheets are non-recyclable”. Therefore, steps will be taken to ban them”, he said.