• Government focusing on waste management rather than restricting imports

Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody said that imposing a blanket ban on plastic imports would lead to the closure of a large number of industries in Sri Lanka, stressing the Government's approach is focused on regulating waste management rather than restricting imports.

Responding to queries from The Daily Morning, he said that both plastic raw materials and industrial chemicals remain essential for key sectors, including the textile industry, which depends heavily on imported chemicals. “We have not banned the import of plastics. If we stop chemical imports as well, many industries will be affected. The textile industry, for example, imports a sizable amount of chemicals. These imports cannot simply be banned,” he noted.

He explained that the Government's focus is on controlling the manner in which waste is disposed of and released into the environment, rather than restricting industrial inputs. “What we are controlling is the way these materials are used and discarded. Our focus, as the Ministry of Environment and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), is to ensure that environmental pollution is managed properly,” he said.

Jayakody added that a new environmental law is being drafted, which would introduce the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), making manufacturers responsible for collecting and managing waste generated by their products, including plastic bottles. “The proposed law will make it the responsibility of producers to collect waste such as PET bottles. The exact mechanism is still being developed, but the principle is clear,” he observed.

He said future regulations would seek to ensure that companies recover a significant portion of the plastic they use. “For example, if a company uses 100 tonnes of plastic, the objective is to ensure that 80 to 90 tonnes are collected and sent for recycling or proper disposal,” he said.

According to Jayakody, many manufacturers have responded positively to the proposal, as they currently bear no responsibility for post-consumer waste. “Our aim is to reduce the amount of plastic entering the environment. We are working with industries to develop practical systems for collection and recycling, supported by the necessary legal framework,” he added.