News
Father, daughter produce biodegradable ballpoint pens with seeds inside
Sachini Christina Sugirdan presents an eco-friendly carbon pen she and her father produced to Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera
By Ifham Nizam
Nearly 100 kilos of used ballpoint pens are discarded in Sri Lanka on a daily basis and they will take several hundred years to decompose fully, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says.
Amaraweera said so when inventor Sachini Kristina Sugirdan yesterday presented a new eco-friendly ballpoint.
The pen introduced by Sachini and her father Sugirdan is a 96 per cent eco-friendly product made of biodegradable materials to prevent environmental damage. The pens come with vegetable and fruit seeds in them.
The invention is completely eco-friendly and it can be grown as a vegetable or fruit plant without having to dispose of empty ballpoint pens.
Amaraweera said used plastic ballpoint pens discarded took at least 100 years to decompose and it had been proved that micro-plastic molecules do not decompose in the soil for about 400 years.
The Minister said that his ministry had introduced special containers to prevent those discarded items from entering the environment, and added that ballpoint pens and toothbrushes would be destroyed with the help of INSEE Cement Company. “But when ballpoint pens are burnt, the carbon dioxide emitted from them pollutes the atmosphere the Minister said.
Speaking on the occasion, Sachini said that she had introduced the product to prevent environmental damage and that the pen could be planted. This pen can be planted. Then you can grow fruits, vegetables and even yams. She added that the pens came with seeds inside them.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the decision of the Food Policy and Security Committee to maintain the minimum purchasing price of 1 kg of Nadu paddy of prescribed standard at Rs. 120 and to increase the minimum purchasing price of 1 kg of Samba from Rs. 125 to Rs. 130 and the minimum purchasing price of Kiri Samba from Rs. 132 to Rs. 140.
The NPP government has issued a new extraordinary gazette renewing and extending Sri Lanka’s long-standing ban on the LTTE and several Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals, continuing to designate them as “terrorists”.
The gazette, published recently, replaces a previous gazette issued in May 2025 and reaffirmed the proscription of a wide range of Tamil political and advocacy bodies operating around the world, alongside dozens of named individuals. The government alleged both the organisations and individuals listed are involved in “terrorism-related activities”.
The organisations blacklisted by the Sri Lankan government include:
• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
• Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO)
• Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC)
• World Tamil Movement (WTM)
• Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)
• World Tamil Relief Fund (WTRF)
• National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT)
• Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO)
While the majority of the designations mirror those contained in the May 2025 gazette, the latest document updates identification details and addresses for a number of individuals and introduces at least one additional organisation to the list. All entries have been reissued under new reference numbers for 2026, though the underlying allegations and framing remain unchanged.
Successive governemnts have maintained a sweeping proscription regime against Tamil diaspora groups and individuals. A ban can make it a criminal offence for Sri Lankan citizens to maintain contact with these organisations or their members, severely restricting political engagement and stifling links between the diaspora and the Tamil homeland.
The original mass listings were introduced in 2014 under the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Despite repeated outcry, subsequent governments have continued to uphold and renew the proscription regime, even after the Rajapaksas were voted out of power.
Police yesterday (12) obtained an injunction order from the Kaduwela Magistrate’s court against the protest launched by National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and former Minister Wimal Weerawansa opposite the Education Ministry, Isurupaya, at Battaramulla.
Police informed Weerawansa of the court order. In line with the court order, the police informed Weerawansa that the road near the Ministry should not be obstructed and that no sound amplification equipment be used while the GCE Advanced Level (A/L) examination is in progress. The examination, put off due to Cyclone Ditwah, recommenced yesterday.
Minimum purchasing price of Samba and Kiri Samba paddy incresed
Showers in the Northern, North-central, Uva, Western, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, North-western and Central provinces and Galle and Matara districts
Govt. extends ban on LTTE
Police obtain court order banning Wimal’s protest
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expresses optimism that Sri Lanka is on the right path to progres
India plans to restore northern regular train services to pre-Ditwah frequencies before traditional New Year 2026
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