(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –Plastic wrappers that go around the lid of plastic water bottles will soon be banned in Sri Lanka, State Mahaweli Development and Environment Minister Ajith Mannapperuma said.
“A large amount of these useless plastic covers are released to the environment daily and they take 200 to 300 years to degrade. The reason for covering these sealed water bottles using non-degradable plastic wrappers is unclear” the Minister said.
Speaking to the media yesterday at the Government Information Department, State Minister Mannapperuma said there is a positive response from single-use water bottle manufacturers to the decision taken by the government to suspend the manufacture of blue-coloured plastic water bottles.
“Water bottles have been coloured to attract customers. But coloured water bottles cannot be recycled. So plastic bottle manufacturers were instructed to manufacture transparent bottles,” the State Minister said.
He said thread used in sewing could be manufactured from recycled plastic water bottles. The Ministry has already taken measures to implement a pilot project in Gampaha to recycle plastic water bottles. The project is scheduled to be launched on August 15.
