Polythene & plastic ban comes into effect from Wednesday (31)

Colombo (News 1st); The Ministry of Environment had decided to prohibit the use of 04 different types of plastic and polythene products in the country.

Environment Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe speaking to News 1st the ban will come into effect from the 31st of March 2021. According to a Gazette Extraordinary issued by the Ministry on January 21st, the use of several polythenes and plastic packing materials will be banned from use for any process, trade, or industry after March 31, 2021. This includes Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials used for packing agro-chemicals, sachets having less than or equal to a net volume of 20ml or net weight of 20g (except for packing food and medicines), inflatable toys (except balloons, balls, water floating/pool toys, and water sports gear) and cotton buds with plastic stems (except plastic cotton buds used for medical or clinical treatment). In addition, necessary steps will be taken to minimize the use of other plastic products while encouraging the general public to recycle, said Dr. Anil Jasinghe.