The rules that now apply to your packaging.
Sri Lankan packaging law changed twice in the last year and changes again this one. No other supplier explains it, so we keep the summary here current.
Polythene under 20 microns is banned
The Central Environmental Authority prohibits the manufacture, sale and use of polythene thinner than 20 microns.
If a supplier quotes you film below 20 microns, it is not legal stock and you carry the risk of using it. Our thinnest product is exactly 20.
No more free shopping bags
Retailers may no longer issue LDPE or LLDPE shopping bags free of charge. The price must be displayed at the premises and itemised on the bill.
If you run a counter, this changed what you hand across it. The bag is now a priced line on the receipt, so its cost and its quality are both visible to your customer.
SLS certification became mandatory
Reusable plastic bottles and food packaging require SLS certification (SLS 1616, SLS 1306), applying to local manufacture and imports alike.
If you pack food, your supplier of food packaging must hold it. Ask for the certificate number, not a logo.
Single-use plastics banned at state institutions
Single-use plastic bottles are banned at government institutions, and single-use plastics are prohibited outright in the Sri Pada sensitive zone.
If you supply schools, hospitals or government offices, single-use lines are closed to you there. Reusable and certified alternatives are not.
Sources: Central Environmental Authority, Consumer Affairs Authority, and reporting in Daily News and news.lk. If you think something here is out of date, tell us and we will check it.
What goes into our film
50% of what goes into our film is recycled material. Part of it is our own production scrap, put back through the recycling machine at the works in-house; the rest is recycled resin we buy in. The remainder is new LDPE, LLDPE and HDPE.
Our film is not biodegradable and we do not describe it as such. It contains 50% recycled material, and that is the honest position. If a supplier tells you their ordinary carrier bag is biodegradable, ask them for the certificate number. There should be one.