Uphill task of reducing dependency on polythene bags

THE Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has announced that the free distribution of polythene bags, generally referred to as 'sili-sili' bags, will be prohibited starting from today (1 November).

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In a gazette notification, the CAA said bags made of low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LDPE) must not be provided free of charge.

Businesses will be required to prominently display the price of these bags at their premises and it is mandatory for vendors to indicate the price of shopping bags on bills issued to consumers. It is hoped that once consumers are asked to pay for these bags, they will be encouraged to carry their own bags to the market and thus lessen the dependency on sili-sili bags.

This is not the first time that attempts have been made to limit the use of sili-sili bags, which are widely used in the country. Successive Governments have attempted to limit the use of such bags but after an initial success, it has always been back to business as usual.

The amount of sili sili bags released by Sri Lankans to the environment amounts to two billion bags per year according to some studies and this causes significant damage to both our drinking water sources and to the ocean.