The Ministry of Finance has proposed to impose a tax or surcharge to control the use of plastic bags issued by business places including supermarkets, said Secretary to the Ministry of Environment K.R. Uduwawala at a media briefing held at the Department of Government Information.
According to this proposal, plastic bags will not be provided free of charge by supermarkets in the future, and a specific price will be set for it.
The main reason for this decision is to minimize the amount of plastic bags that are being released into the environment through supermarkets.
The Secretary stated that discussions were held with several ministries, including the Ministry of Finance and the Consumer Affairs Authority, to implement this program. Similar programs are being implemented successfully in other countries.