• Price of bag should be in bill issued at point of sale 
• Mandatory SLS certification for plastics used by kids including milk feeding and water bottles/lunch boxes from 1 Apr. 2026

A gazette extraordinary has been issued suspending the free distribution of plastic shopping bags to consumers from 1 November of this year. The gazette has been issued by the Chairperson of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) Hemantha Samarakoon.

According to the gazette, the CAA has directed that no trader shall, at the time of the selling of goods, issue free of charge to any consumer, bags made of the following raw materials: The regulation is applicable to low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear LDPE. The directive of the CAA states that bags of any dimension with handles for the purpose of carrying purchased goods, generally referred as ‘sili-sili’ bags will come into effect from 1 November. Furthermore, the price charged for such bags should be mentioned on the bill issued to the consumer.

Meanwhile, it will be mandatory for manufacturers to obtain the Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) certification for plastic items such as feeding bottles and lunch boxes used by schoolchildren before releasing them to the market, the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, Wasantha Samarasinghe has announced. The regulation will come into effect from 1 April of next year (2026). 

Participating in a media conference at the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, Samarasinghe further stated that from 1 April 2026, the sale of products that do not comply with the prescribed standards will be strictly prohibited. He noted that plastic bottles used for feeding milk to children, as well as lunch boxes and water bottles used by schoolchildren, are currently available in the market at varying prices. However, he further pointed out that a number of these products neither carry the prescribed standard certification nor any indication of their suitability for use.

According to the CAA, research suggests that some of the products in the market at present contain carcinogens.

Considering this situation, the ministry has taken steps to ban the manufacture and sale of substandard plastic products intended for storing food and liquids with effect from 1 April 2026. Samarasinghe emphasised that from 1 April 2026, obtaining the SLS certification for the relevant products will be mandatory.