Rs. 5 off for over Rs. 500 bills carrying reusable bag to supermarkets

Consensus of supermarket heads were given to have Rs. 5 off from consumers who carry a reusable bag to buy goods from supermarkets, amounting to a bill value above Rs. 500 at the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development. This SOC on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development meeting was held under the Chairmanship of MP Ajith Mannapperuma, at the Parliament recently.

The heads of leading supermarkets in Sri Lanka such as Arpico Super Center, Keells, Cargills Food City, Laugfs Super, and Spar were present before the committee. Heads of ready-made garment shops and heads of pen manufacturing establishments were also summoned before the Committee. The purpose of this Committee meeting was to obtain the contribution of the said representatives to reduce the use of plastic and polythene as they are the leading organisations that release plastic and polythene packaging considerably in Sri Lanka.

The Committee Chair informed the heads of the said supermarkets regarding the excessive use of polythene and plastic in Sri Lanka and the adverse effects that may arise from it in the future.

Accordingly, the Committee was able to implement certain basic steps to eliminate the use of polythene and plastic by reducing such adverse conditions.

The relevant supermarket officials also agreed to provide necessary campaigns to inform their customers regarding this special decision taken to protect the environment and to provide the necessary training and awareness to their respective staff members. The heads of the supermarkets stated before the Committee that they are ready to continue their contribution to reduce the use of polythene by increasing the concessions given to customers who bring more reusable bags in the future.

The heads of pen production establishments disclosed before the Committee that 120 million pens are being released to the market per year. Considering the weight of the pens, it was disclosed at the Committee that this amount is about 80 tonnes of plastic.

Since the value of a pen is mostly on ink and the pen tip, the price of a pen does not decrease significantly by making the pen tube to be used again and again. It was also stated that it is difficult to recycle plastic raw materials used to produce pens in Sri Lanka, and there is no organisation established in the country that recycle pens.

The Chair instructed the heads of relevant institutions and the youth representatives who were present at the Committee meeting to look into the measures taken by other countries for pen recycling and the possibilities of producing pens using plastic materials that can be recycled and report to the Committee.

The measures that can be taken to reduce the use of polythene and plastic in the garment sector were discussed at length with the heads of several establishments. Accordingly, the Chair instructed the heads of those institutions to refer the most effective proposals to the council.

It was emphasised that the primary objective of the Committee is to create a change of attitude in the consumer as well as in the businessman about reducing the use of plastic polythene.

MPs Thushara Indunil Amarasena, Nalaka Bandara Kottegoda, and Dr. Thilak Rajapakshe were present at the Committee meeting.

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