News

Industry-backed EPR Amendments could shift waste burden to public, warns CEJ

Published

5 months ago

2026/05/13

The proposed amendments to Sri Lanka’s National Environmental Act (NEA) could dangerously dilute the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and unfairly transfer the burden of waste management from corporations to consumers, Chairman of the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Hemantha Withanage has warned.

Withanage, in a strongly worded statement issued yesterday, alleged that the Ministry of Environment and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) had adopted a “closed-door” approach in drafting the amendments to the National Environmental Act No. 47 of 1980, gazetted on April 22, 2026, without adequate consultation with environmental civil society organisations.

“Extended Producer Responsibility is a globally recognised policy tool which places responsibility on producers throughout the lifecycle of their products, including the post-consumer stage,” Withanage said. “However, the proposed Sri Lankan amendments appear to convert this into an ‘Extended Producer and Consumer Responsibility’ mechanism, which defeats the very purpose of mandatory EPR.”

According to the proposed Section 23QQ of the amendment bill, responsibility for the lifecycle management of products could be imposed not only on importers, manufacturers, vendors and handlers, but also on consumers. The draft further empowers the Minister to establish a mechanism to charge fees from the “responsible party” and impose penalties for non-compliance.

Withanage questioned why consumers had been included in a framework that internationally targets producers.

“The OECD clearly defines EPR as a policy approach that shifts responsibility upstream to producers and incentivises environmentally responsible product design,” he said. “By introducing consumers into the legal framework, the Sri Lankan proposal opens the door for corporations to escape the financial burden of collection, recycling and redesigning products.”

He warned that such a move would undermine efforts to establish a circular economy based on reuse, refilling and repackaging, while protecting linear production systems that continue to generate mounting plastic and electronic waste.

The CEJ Chairman also pointed to neighbouring India’s EPR regulations as a model Sri Lanka had failed to follow. India’s 2021 regulations explicitly place responsibility on producers, importers and brand owners for plastic packaging waste while distinguishing between pre-consumer and post-consumer waste streams.

“Indian law very clearly excludes consumers from producer obligations,” Withanage said. “It is deeply concerning that those drafting these amendments appear not to have studied even regional examples before attempting to reshape Sri Lanka’s environmental laws.”

He further alleged that civil society organisations had been deliberately sidelined during the drafting process.

“Although the CEA initially involved us in discussions, subsequent meetings were held behind closed doors,” he claimed. “At one meeting, officials even asserted that the latest draft had removed the word ‘consumer’ from the EPR provisions. But the gazetted version proves otherwise.”

Withanage said the lack of transparency contradicted international best practices. Referring to OECD recommendations and the Basel Convention, he stressed that all stakeholders — including waste pickers — should be part of a formal and regular dialogue on EPR implementation.

“The OECD highlights the importance of ensuring worker safety, environmental sustainability and a just transition into the formal economy,” he noted. “Yet Sri Lanka’s process has ignored these principles.”

The environmental activist alleged that powerful corporate interests were influencing the amendment process to avoid billions of rupees in future waste management costs.

“By shifting responsibility onto consumers, companies will eventually expect the public to pay for waste generated by corporations,” he said. “We have already seen similar tactics in the legal arrangements surrounding the plastic bag levy.”

Calling on the public to intervene before the bill is enacted, Withanage urged citizens to contact their elected representatives and explain the long-term implications of what he described as “subtle but dangerous wordsmithing” in the draft law.

“This is not merely a technical amendment,” he warned. “It is a policy shift that could determine who pays for Sri Lanka’s waste crisis in the years ahead. It is time for the public to act.”

By Ifham Nizam

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Lanka enters new phase of prosecutions as hurdles clear

Published

3 hours ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

MONETABRIEF –The prosecution of high-profile individuals from the former Rajapaksa administrations is set to escalate this month with the clearing of legal hurdles and administrative bottlenecks, according to officials involved in the process.

Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s attempt to secure an order preventing his arrest in connection with the Easter Sunday massacre was turned down by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.

An overseas travel ban has been in operation against Rajapaksa since June, but the Criminal Investigations Department made no move to question him. He instead filed a writ application seeking an order preventing his possible arrest.

President of the Court of Appeal Rohantha Abeysuriya noted that the court would not interfere with the investigative process. Any attempt by the court would amount to an obstruction of the investigation.

In an unrelated case, the same court rejected an application by opposition legislator Dilith Jayaweera seeking the quashing of a contempt charge filed against him by the Fort magistrate. The charges against Jayaweera and a few other opposition politicians are expected to be taken up in the coming week.

Jayaweera and other opposition politicians — Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Sugeeshwara Bandara, and Asanka Navaratne

— were hauled up over their remarks relating to the arrest of Suresh Sallay, the former head of the State Intelligence Service.

SLPP academic Mahinda Pathirana is also charged over his public comments about Sallay’s arrest in February under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, legislator Namal Rajapaksa, is already in remand custody following his arrest in connection with three cases of bribery and money laundering relating to the 2013 Airbus deal and the Krrish property development in Colombo.

Although Namal has been granted bail in the Airbus money laundering charge, he is in custody until October 13 over the bribery charge relating to the same Airbus transaction. His arrest is under a provision of the Anti-Corruption Act that does not allow a magistrate to grant bail unless under exceptional circumstances.

Meanwhile, his mother Shiranthi Rajapaksa, who had been asked to report to the Financial Crimes Investigations Division on September 24, was a no-show and was yet to return from Singapore.

She had travelled overseas on September 16, and a family spokesman said she was handed the FCID summons at the departure lounge of Bandaranaike International Airport just before she boarded a flight to Singapore.

At the time, the family spokesman said she was due to return in three days.

“We will see greater momentum in the legacy cases in the coming weeks,” an official involved in the prosecutions said.

“We have cleared the legal hurdles to press ahead with more arrests,” he said.

“We are working on a few administrative issues which will be resolved very soon.”

The controversial prosecution of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe is dragging on without him being formally indicted since his arrest in August last year. The Fort magistrate has listed the case again for November 11, when the Attorney-General is expected to report on his decision regarding action against Wickremesinghe.

News

Police warn: Court evaders face property seizure

Published

3 hours ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

Police have reminded the public that courts have the power to take legal action against individuals who evade arrest or remain in hiding after warrants have been issued against them.

Police said that under Section 60 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979, a court could issue a written proclamation requiring a person evading arrest under a warrant to appear at a specified place and time.

The proclamation must allow the person at least 30 days to appear before court, Police said.

If the person fails to appear even after the proclamation has been issued, the court may take further action under Section 61 of the Act.

This includes issuing an order for the attachment of the movable or immovable property belonging to the person concerned.Police issued the reminder highlighting the legal measures available against persons who deliberately evade arrest and remain in hiding after warrants have been issued.

News

Nearly 20 Iranian tankers stranded off Lanka amid US sanctions

Published

3 hours ago

2026/10/4

Thilina Walpola

Around 20 Iranian oil tankers are reportedly stranded about 15 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s southwestern coast, with several vessels facing shortages of food, fuel and fresh water amid tightening US sanctions and maritime restrictions, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the report published on Thursday (1), US officials have in recent weeks urged Sri Lanka to prevent local vessels from supplying essential provisions to the tankers and their crews.

The report, citing Sri Lankan Government documents and companies involved in supplying the vessels, said the US had raised concerns over assistance being provided to the sanctioned tankers.

The situation follows the United States’ decision to reimpose a maritime blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in July, which has reportedly left dozens of Iranian and Iran-linked tankers involved in transporting sanctioned oil to China stranded near Asian countries, including Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

Most of the vessels are reportedly empty tankers that had previously transported Iranian crude to Asia, often through ship-to-ship transfers, before preparing to return to Iran for additional cargo.

The WSJ reported that the US Embassy had warned Sri Lanka in August that it was monitoring 19 Iranian tankers off the country’s western coast and had raised the possibility of secondary sanctions against companies providing services to sanctioned vessels.

Sri Lankan authorities have maintained that the vessels are located outside the country’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters and that the Government is not providing them with logistical assistance.

Meanwhile, shipping companies told the WSJ that obtaining approval to supply essential items, including food, drinking water and fuel, as well as repair services, to the Iranian vessels had become increasingly difficult.

Separately, Reuters reported in late August that 27 sanctioned Iran-linked tankers were waiting off Sri Lanka without cargo.

The Trump administration has also imposed additional sanctions on Iran and warned countries and companies trading with Tehran of potential consequences, as Washington seeks to pressure Iran to make concessions amid the ongoing conflict.

Similar concentrations of Iranian-linked tankers have been reported off Malaysia, where waters have historically been used for ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian crude destined mainly for China.