Govt. to ban shopping bags and lunch sheets

A ban on shopping bags and lunch sheets will be implemented, although no alternatives have been offered, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. 

He said the Ministry of Environment has decided to implement the ban on shopping bags and lunch sheets in the next few weeks.

"As the Ministry of Environment, we have implemented a number of programs for the environmental protection of our country. In particular we have implemented the ban on polythene and plastics which are widely used in our country. We have banned five polythene and plastic products since March 31," the minister said. 

He revealed that eight more categories have been prepared for future bans, including lunch sheets and shopping bags. He acknowledged that banning these two would be controversial. However, lunch sheets and shopping bags ause the most pollution in the country are released into the environment by the millions each day, he stressed.

One supermarket chain alone issues billions of shopping bags a year to consumers for free. The total amount of shopping bags discarded in the island annually is around two billion, he claimed. Lunch sheets are also released into the environment in millions, he added.

"We are in discussions with the relevant departments to introduce alternatives to these products. But there is still no product that meets the demand. Whether there are options or not, the ban on lunch sheets and shopping bags will definitely be implemented. Before these came into use we used some equipment for this purpose. Therefore, we may have to get used to them again," he said. 

He made the comments today when Lions Club 306 B 2 District presented to the Ministry of Environment the proposed Environmental Management Plan to be implemented during the period 2021-22.

The Lions Club also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with District 306 B 2 and the Institute of Environmental Professionals on the implementation of the plan.

The Ministry of Environment, Lions Club 306 B 2 District and the Institute of Environmental Professionals have also agreed to implement this plan. Minister Amaraweera, District Governor Kaushalya Rajapaksa and Prof. Niranjani Ratnayake were also present on the occasion.