There were mixed reactions from people over the polythene ban while the packaging industry and others raised their concerns. The government simply imposed the ban on polythene without taking any measures to replace it with an alternative and they are still in the process of making regulations and setting standards.
Chairman of the Central Environment Authority (CEA) Prof. Lal Darmasiri in a recent interview with the Daily News said that they are taking measures to promote bio degradable polythene and assured that bio degradable polythene bags will come to the market within the next few weeks. However, when the Daily News attempted to contact the CEA Chairman on their latest progress, he was not available for comment and said he was busy at meetings.
Deputy Director General of SLSI W. N. N. Satharasinghe meanwhile said that SLSI is taking initiatives to set standards for bio degradable polythene bags. She said that they do not have enough facilities to check the quality and standards of the bio degradable polythene bags. There are a few companies in Sri Lanka that manufacture bio degradable polythene bags with international standards. Yet, Sri Lanka does not have a procedure to certify those internationally approved products. Satharasinghe said they are looking for a possible method to certify the internationally approved bio degradable products as well.
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