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Quarter bottle ban takes a U-turn

03 Oct 2021

  • Gets replaced by a new concept
  • Alcohol manufacturers dismayed by initial ban announcement
  BY The Sunday Morning Business Desk The quarter bottle ban proposed by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) last year, considering the damage it inflicts on the environment, might not be implemented by the Authority as planned, The Sunday Morning Business learns. Speaking to us, a CEA official, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed that there is a possibility the decision to ban quarter bottles might not get implemented, as the Authority is now in the process of implementing an “extended producer responsibility concept” as an alternative measure for this proposal. “This new concept is where the producer, manufacturer, or the agent will take full responsibility for the final disposing of the quarter bottle. Therefore, the decision to ban the quarter bottle is still pending and will take time. However, the Authority might not actually ban it in the future,” the official said. All attempts to reach Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera for further clarification proved futile. The CEA, in line with their regulation for environmental protection, vowed to ban liquor quarter bottles sold in 180 ml bottles made of glass or plastic (known as quarter bottles, or simply quarters) due to the bottles being discarded carelessly after use by consumers. As per available records, over 300 million quarter bottles had been purchased in 2019 from liquor stores. Last year, The Sunday Morning Business reliably learnt that the authorities had given the industry the option of charging Rs. 50 as a refundable deposit for every quarter bottle purchased, where this Rs. 50 would be returned to the consumer when the empty bottle is returned to the seller. Nevertheless, sources informed us that alcohol manufacturers are not in favour of this option, as quarter bottles are bought almost entirely by daily drinkers and an increase of Rs. 50 would put the quarter bottle beyond consumers’ reach. “The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act prohibits drinking in public, so consumers have to take these bottles elsewhere and drink. After that, they would be reluctant to come and return the bottle. This move would also lead to a rise in illicit liquor,” sources added. It is learnt that alcohol manufacturers have suggested a few alternative measures instead of a complete ban on quarter bottles and charging a deposit fee. This includes getting wine shops on board to collect empty bottles that would be thrown away in their surroundings and handing them over for recycling. Alcohol manufacturers are expected to pay wine shops incentives for doing so. The next measure that was tabled was the loosening of the regulation prohibiting liquor advertising in the NATA Act and to allow the display of banners and increase awareness amongst people to hand over empty bottles to the nearest wine shop. The third suggestion was to get the urban councils’ garbage collectors to collect these bottles and hand it over to Piramal Glass Ltd., a glass packaging company that supplies quarter bottles to most of the local manufacturers, particularly after the import restrictions. “Over 60% of the bottle price is paid as tax, so civil administration authorities such as urban councils can collect these bottles as part of their garbage collection,” sources added. It is learnt that due to these additional measures, alcohol manufacturers might incur about Rs. 15 million as additional costs. The leading alcohol manufacturer alone sold 55-65 million quarter bottles last year. Meanwhile, in a bid to protect the environment from polythene and plastic products, the CEA has taken steps to ban a number of new products with effect from January 2022. Accordingly, the new list of items to be banned include artificial grass mats (except those used for indoor sports grounds), garlands, and string hopper preparation trays (net); single-use drinking cups, plates, spoons, forks and knives, 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.

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