• Retailers accused of exploiting court order

The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) claimed that certain retail shop owners were profiting from a court order that prevents supermarkets from issuing polythene shopping bags free of charge.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (1 March), CEJ Media Officer Ranjan Karunanayaka said the court order, issued following a petition filed by CEJ, applies only to supermarkets. “It is the supermarkets that use several bags to package goods before giving them to customers. For vegetables, meat and confectionery, they use separate shopping bags, and this has become a major issue. The court order was issued against supermarkets,” he said.

He further added, “In retail shops, usually only one bag is provided and, according to legal provisions, that bag must be issued free of charge. However, exploiting the existing situation, retail shop owners have also started charging money for shopping bags.”

In the particular court case, which followed a Fundamental Rights petition filed by CEJ, regulations that previously required polythene shopping bags to be issued free of charge were lifted. The court proceedings, aimed at minimising plastic pollution, resulted in an agreement to shift policy towards reducing usage. New regulations that came into effect on 1 November, 2025 prohibit the free distribution of polythene shopping bags by supermarkets and require a charge to be imposed instead. Following the court order, a considerable reduction in polythene usage has been observed.