Samurdhi Green Garden launched
A Samurdhi Green Garden has been launched at the Wickremasinghepura Chitthavivekashramaya in Battaramulla.
The Samurdhi Community Organization is implementing the programme of launching environment friendly green gardens in the Wickremasinghepura area.
It was under this programme that this Green Garden was launched on the advice of Chief Incumbent of the Chitthavivekashramaya, the Ven. Kelegammana Wimalarathana Thera.
Many saplings including herbal plants are being planted here. District Samurdhi Director A.G.S. Ashoka Kumara was among those present on the occasion.
Source – ITN News, see more at – https://www.itnnews.lk/local-news/samurdhi-green-garden-launched/
A long walk for water
The drought in the Northern, North Central, and North Western provinces has been worsening over the past months.
These photographs captured from various parts of the affected areas show the impact of the drought. Wildlife too have been affected by the lack of water.Drinking water has become the main issue with villagers forced to travel long distances to find water. Farming lands have dried up.
Source – The Sunday Times, see more at – http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170709/news/a-long-walk-for-water-249031.html
Use of polythene, rigifoam, shopping bags banned
Central Environment Authority (CEA) has banned the use of polythene lunch sheets, rigifoam boxes and shopping bags, with effect from 1st of September.
In a bid to make Sri Lanka polythene-free and find a sustainable solution to solid waste management, President Maithripala Sirisena has announced a number of measures including the ban on the import, manufacture and sale of lunch sheets and a ban on the use of polythene for decorations.
Cabinet approval was granted on Tuesday for a series of measures proposed by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment to gradually end the use of polythene and thus minimize its environmental impact.
While banning polythene use for decorations the manufacture, sale and use of polythene of 20 microns or less for essential activities on the approval of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA).
The short term measures also include the ban on the manufacture, import or sale of containers, plates, cups, spoons made of polystyrene, the ban on the sale of processed or cooked meals packed in polythene containers and the promotion of paper, cloth or reed bags or biologically degradable plastics for customers when purchasing items in stores, prohibition of burning polythene and plastic in open places introduction and promotion of biologically degradable polythene and plastics.
Tax concessions would be provided to import machinery for the manufacture of biologically degradable plastic and a cess tax of 15% on the import of plastic raw material and goods.
In the long term the use of recycled plastic products would be banned.
Cabinet Spokesman and Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne told the reporters at the weekly cabinet news briefing yesterday that the short term measures will be effective from Tuesday after the proposals were approved by the Cabinet.
The long and medium term measures need legislative approval for their implementation and therefore it takes time.
Responding to a journalist, he said people would go back to good old habits of using perishable lunch wrappers and food containers when the ban of polythene was in place.
(Sandun Jayasekara)
Source – 12/07/2017, DailyMirror, see more at – http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Use-of-polythene-rigifoam-shopping-bags-banned-132675.html
