CEA HAS LAUNCHED 10,384 RAIDS ON ILLEGAL POLYTHENE INDUSTRY, SINCE JANUARY 2018

There is a substantial decline in the use of banned raw materials

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has launched 10,384 raids since January 1, 2018 on manufacturing and selling of illegal polythene, CEA Director of Investigation N. F. Gamage told Daily Mirror yesterday. Mr. Gamage said there was substantial decline in manufacturing polythene products using banned raw materials and added they had noticed that polythene manufacturing companies were gradually adapting to bio-degradable products.

“Most of the illegal polythene manufacturing companies have been raided from the Western Province (Colombo, Gampaha) and other districts like Kurunegala and Galle,” Mr. Gamage said.

“The largest haul of illegal polythene was seized from a polythene manufacturing factory in Panadura in February where there were five tonnes of banned polythene worth Rs. 2 million,” Mr. Gamage added.

The CEA commenced to launch island wide programmes to raid illegal lunch sheet producers, sellers and users from January last year.

The regulation published under section 23W of the National Environmental Act bearing No. 2034/34 and dated on September1 2017, prohibited the manufacture of food wrappers from polythene as a raw material for use in the country with effect from September 1, 2017.

However, this regulation was fully enforced with effect from January 2018 after being given a grace period to adhere to the new law by the manufacturers.

The recently conducted raid was reported from a lunch sheet manufacturing industry in Hokandara where the CEA had detected a stock of two tonnes worth nearly two million rupees .

The CEA officials carried out the raid together with the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and Police Special Unit of the CEA on Thursday.

When the raid was conducted, the industry was manufacturing lunch sheets using HDPE, LDPE materials and calcium. Five extruder machines (15Hp each), six cutting machines (four 10Hp and one 12 Hp) and two mixtures were being used for the production process.

It has been revealed that this illegal industry does not possess any kind of approval including the Environmental Protection License (EPL), Business Registration and Trade License.

This industry has violated the National Environmental Act since there is no valid EPL and manufactures HDPE lunch sheets in contrary with Regulation No. 2034/34 of 2017 09.01. The CEA pursued legal action against the accused for these two charges in the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court.