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Fresh bans in CEA bucket list

15 Aug 2021

  • Artificial grass mats, garlands, string hopper trays, single-use plates, cups included
  • Ban to come into effect from January 2022
By Yakuta Dawood In a bid to protect the environment from polythene and plastic products, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has taken steps to ban a number of new products with effect from January 2022, The Sunday Morning Business exclusively learns. Speaking to us, CEA Director General P.B. Hemantha Jayasinghe stated that a list pertaining to products of polythene and plastic has been prepared, which requires the approval of the Minister of Environment and other related officials, after which it will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval. “Once the list is approved by the Minister, it will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval of finalising the list. We will have to give a grace period to stakeholders involved; however, it will be hopefully implemented by January 2022,” Jayasinghe explained. Accordingly, the new list items to be banned include artificial grass mats (except those used for indoor sports grounds), garlands, string hopper preparation trays (net), single-use drinking cups, plates, spoons, forks and knives, drinking straws and stirrers, bags having dimensions of less than 10 x 5 x 16 inches (with handle) or 10 x 12 inches (without handle or gusset), and any plastic material used for the packing of incense sticks and wicks for any process, trade, or any industry. Meanwhile, the CEA is raiding violators who still manufacture and sell banned single-use plastic items such as sachets having less than or equal to a net volume of 20ml/net weight of 20 g (except for packing food and medicines), inflatable toys (except balloons, balls, water floats/pool toys, and water sports gear), cotton swabs with plastic stems (except plastic cotton swabs used for medical/clinical treatment), and the use of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material to package agrochemicals has been banned in Sri Lanka. “Raiding started from 1 August. Strict action will be taken on violators who are caught manufacturing and selling the banned items,” Jayasinghe added. Simultaneously, the officials of CEA are currently in the process of holding discussions between the relevant stakeholders to alter or replace sachet packet volume as leading conglomerates started debuting single-use plastic sachet packets with a capacity slightly above the banned capacity of 20 ml, serving no real purpose to the ban. CEA Chairman Siripala Amarasinghe, speaking to us in May, stated that extensive discussions are taking place alongside the Ministry of Environment to make a solid decision to stop the production of such sachet packets, which could still have an impact on the environment. “Legally, we cannot go to court, as it is above the net volume of 20 ml. However, right now our Ministry, our legal division, and the Consumer Affairs Authority’s Legal Division are holding continuous discussions, the results of which will be announced within a few days. The imposed regulations may be altered,” Amarasinghe said. Further, CEA Waste Management Division Director Sarojini Jayasekara, speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, also confirmed that necessary discussions are taking place by all officials involved, but refused to divulge further information, as decisions have not been finalised yet. Moreover, when asked about inflatable toys, cotton swabs, and other banned items still existing in the market, Jayasekara said the CEA has given a validity period of three months until August for manufacturers and sellers to finish their existing sales and stocks. “The importation and the manufacturing of inflatable toys has been stopped by all companies. However, due to the prevailing conditions in the country, Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera has granted three months to clear out their stocks that were produced before the ban,” Jayasekara added. The Ministry of Environment took the decision to impose a ban on single-use plastics and gazetted it on 31 March 2021, with the ban coming into effect from 1 April 2021, according to the CEA.


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