The Central Environment Authority (CEA) has announced the ban of nine single-use plastic items for any process, trade, or industry with effect from October 1, CEA Director General P. B. Hemantha Jayasinghe said.

He said the decision was taken according to Gazette Extraordinary No. 2341/30 issued on July 19, 2023, with the objective of reducing the use of non-essential plastic items and related environmental problems and providing support to protect the environment, including living beings.

Accordingly, single-use plastic items include single-use drinking straws and stirrers; single-use plates, cups, spoons, forks, and knives; plastic garlands; and plastic string hopper trays that have been banned, he said.

Moreover, manufacturing, importation for local use, sale, offering for sale, displaying for sale, offering free of charge, or exhibiting within the country will be banned from October 1. In the event of any violation of this ban, legal action will be taken in accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental Act. Jayasinghe said.

It is the need of the hour that everyone works together to prevent the massive environmental pollution caused by the use of plastic, he said.

The banning of these single-use plastic items will provide an opportunity to promote local industries engaged in environmentally friendly alternatives and reduce the foreign exchange involved in plastic importation, Jayasinghe added. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)