Ban on ‘thin’ polythene from January

A ban on the use of polythene (20 microns and below thickness) mostly used as shopping bags and lunch sheets will be strictly enforced from January1, 2007.

Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Jayalath R. V. Dissanayaka said 20 microns and below includes lunch sheets, “silly-silly” bags, grocery bags and the like. The reason for setting the cap on 20 microns according to Dissanayaka is that it is a very thin gauge. The effect it has on the environment is greater than polythene of higher gauges. Speaking of how it affects the environment adversely, he said “It gets caught on trees, it gathers up in a bunch and is hard to unravel and it accumulates in the environment.”

Asked about the impact on manufacturers of products using polythene of the specified grade, he said the decision to set the limit at 20 microns was reached after considering all possible angles. “We considered the effect it would have on everyone before we decided on the grading,” he said adding that so far they have not received any complaints from anyone.
The penalties for violating this order are either a fine not exceeding Rs 10 000 or imprisonment not more than two years or both, if found guilty by a Magistrate.

Supermarket chains would be among the biggest users affected by the move. A spokesperson for Cargills Food City said, “This has a huge impact on us. We are going to have to look at alternatives to use.” She said they are looking at options of switching to a higher gauge or using a more environmentally option for packaging. Speaking of the cost they will have to incur as a result of this, the spokesperson said the cost will definitely be higher than what they incur at the moment but won’t be passed on to the consumer.

W. K. H. Wegapitiya, Chairman of Laugfs Supermarkets said that it is a major problem as they use bags made of polythene of these grades. Speaking about the cost component, he said that they are still trying to analyse the situation and once they receive fresh quotations at the end of this month or the beginning of the next, they will be able to determine the expenditure.

Vice President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging T. L. Chandraratne said that 120,000 tonnes of plastic are imported into the country every year of which 50% is re-exported. Of the 60,000 tonnes used locally, 10% (6,000 tonnes) is High Density Polyethylene (HDP) which includes the problematic lunch sheets and shopping bags. He said however that by increasing the grade to above 20 microns, the amount of plastic in each bag increases, thereby increasing the volume of plastic entering the environment as well as the cost.

Government researchers have developed an alternative for packaging food. A team of researchers headed by Dr. Sujatha Weerasinghe at the Agricultural Research Station, Telijjawila has come up with a technique using cured banana leaves to wrap food as an environmentally friendly alternative to the more damaging lunch sheet.

Dr. Weerasinghe told The Sunday Times that, “I did not develop this technology as an alternative to lunch sheets. This was begun four years ago in an effort to increase productivity of the banana tree.” She said with the new laws coming into effect, the cured banana leaf comes in to fill the void created by the departure of the lunch sheet.

According to Dr. Weerasinghe this leaf can be washed and re-used. It does not tear when folding. It can also be used in the microwave oven without any chemical changes occurring.

She said no one was interested in this technique at the beginning, but with the ban on polythene coming into effect it has aroused people’s interest. She also noted that two students Nadeeka Jayasinghe and Chathurika Gamaachchi helped with the research, as part of their research projects.