By Ifham Nizam

Annually 177,197 tonnes of polythene and plastic are discarded here and only 7.1 percent, or 12,636 tonnes are recycled, an Environment Ministry study reveals.

The amount of plastic and polythene disposed of in Sri Lanka per day is 3734.4 tonnes and the remaining 92.9 percent is discharged into the environment.

These polythene and plastic waste materials end up in the ocean, rivers, streams and lakes.

A discussion was held at the Environment Ministry on the proposed ban on some varieties of polythene and plastic. It was attended by representatives of the Central Environmental Authority and several companies currently producing polythene and plastics.

Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told officials: “A lawyer from Galle has filed a case against charging a fee for shopping bags. Requesting a ruling that shopping bags issued by supermarkets should be issued free of charge. Therefore, I instructed the officials of the Ministry of Environment to file an appeal.”

He said a newspaper reported that 80 new cancer patients were reported here every day.

There were a large number of people who did not go to hospital, the Minister observed.

Nearly 600 million paracetamol tablets were imported annually to the government hospital system alone, the Minister said.

“It was also recorded that about 1,000 million paracetamol tablets were  sold in the country per year, and in other words, all the people in our country have become ill,” Minister Amaraweera said.

The Environment Minister queried how Sri Lanka could move forward when all its citizens were sick? “If all the food we consume contains things that make us sick, we should get rid of them immediately,” he said.