Govt To Ban Deadly Polythene For Umpteenth Time!
Environment and Wildlife Resources Ministry’s Additional Director Sujeewa Fernando said yesterday that they would ban polythene bags shortly. She said that they had filed more than 1,000 cases against illegal polythene manufacturers while also had taken into custody huge stocks of polythene. Previous governments and especially the Yahapalana regime announced banning of polythene (silisili) bags on several occasions, but never really implemented it, leading many to suspect that it was a shakedown each time.
The Environment Police had no powers to arrest illegal polythene manufacturers or dealers but the Central Environment Authority (CEA) had all the powers, a Police officer said. Speaking at a roundtable discussion on `The Ban of Single Use Plastics’ at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Research Centre in Colombo, organised by the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), she said that since 2017, there were six regulations and presently regulations were being reviewed. She said that that plastic made in rooms, cannot be dealt by them and believes the Public Health Inspectors were the best people to do so. Fernando stressed that everybody should think of social responsibility, stressing government officials were limited to conducting raids.
The Environment Police had no powers to arrest illegal polythene manufacturers or dealers but the Central Environment Authority (CEA) had all the powers, said Police Environment Division, Officer in Charge of Administration, IP Rashintha Piyarathna. He also said that two Police teams day to day assist in raids by the CEA officials. CEJ Executive Director Hemantha Withanage said that CEA alone could not carry out raids; Consumer Affairs Authority, PHI’s and Police should be given full powers. He said the low standard of Polyethylene Terephthalate (Commonly known as PET) that was used in producing plastic bottles was neurotoxic to all living beings. The vast destruction was caused by ‘micro plastics’, the tiny particles of plastic that result from the breaking of sachet packets, washing powder packets, toothpaste tubes and others of their ilk, Withanage pointed out.
He said that those particles blend into air and water and end up in the respiratory systems of both humans and animals and that if ingested, can damage nervous and reproductive systems.
“By 2050, 99 percent of the bird species and 15 per cent of the animal species as a whole will become extinct. No species can get away from plastic pollution” he added.
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