Lunch packets in "rigiform"boxes and in polythene prohibited from January 2017
The director of the central environmental authority KH Muthukudaarachchi has quipped that the usage of polythene,regifoam boxes for lunch parcels,plastic water bottles, soft drind bottles would be banned from the 1st of January 2017 as they are harmful to health as well to the environment.
Those who break these rules from January would be dealt by the law as provisions for them have
been formed to prosecute offenders. It is reported that according to the central environmental authority only polythene above the gauge of 20 microns were allowed to be used and marketed.It is reported that around one thousand institutions who had stocked these under 20 micron polythene and those marketed have been apprehended.Against five hundred of them legal process have been instituted.
The President Maithripala Sirisena as the Minister in charge of the environment had submitted a cabinet paper with the advise of a special committee appointed to allow only polythene having a thickness of over 40 microns should be allowed to use from January 2017 .However plastic or plastic that is prone to decay could be used for domestic purposes.This would be gazetted a a national principle soon .
Anyhow for the public to get accustomed a relief period.