No need of special gazette to ban polythene lunch sheets from Aug 1: Amaraweera

There is no need to issue a special gazette notification to announce the production, distribution and sale of non-perishable lunch sheets made of polythene from August 1, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

Addressing a meeting with all representatives of the supermarket chains currently operating in our country at the Ministry yesterday, he said a gazette notification was issued in 2017, but the ban was not being implemented properly.

"Non-perishable lunch sheets cause great damage to the environment and add up to 12-15 million lunch sheets to the environment daily. At least one percent of the lunch sheets used by humans are not recycled and more than 99% are dumped into the environment," the Minister said.

"We discussed the lunch sheet ban with the manufacturers. We also had discussions with the companies that make perishable lunch sheets. We only ban non-perishable material. But the market sells biodegradable ones. At present, about eight companies have joined in. Compostable lunch sheets cost more than those made by polythene, " Minister Amaraweera said.

"The ban on non-perishable lunch sheets made of polythene will come into effect on August 1 and steps have been taken to introduce the necessary alternatives to the public. Accordingly, only perishable lunch sheets can be sold in stores. It is also illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell non-perishable lunch sheets. The Minister also said that legal action would be taken against anyone who disregards the law, "he said.

The Minister also instructed the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) to conduct raids from August 1 to look into the matter with the assistance of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA). (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)