{"id":115145,"date":"2023-06-27T07:30:17","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T04:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/news\/jumbo-problem-sri-lankas-battle-with-plastic-pollution\/"},"modified":"2023-06-27T07:30:17","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T04:30:17","slug":"jumbo-problem-sri-lankas-battle-with-plastic-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/news\/jumbo-problem-sri-lankas-battle-with-plastic-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Jumbo problem: Sri Lanka\u2019s battle with plastic pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mp_wrapper\">\n  <div class=\"mepr-unauthorized-message\">\n    <p>You are unauthorized to view this page.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mepr-login-form-wrap\">\n            \n<div class=\"mp_wrapper mp_login_form\">\n                  <!-- mp-login-form-start -->     <form name=\"mepr_loginform\" id=\"mepr_loginform\" class=\"mepr-form\" action=\"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/login-2\/\" method=\"post\" data-trp-original-action=\"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/login-2\/\">\n            <div class=\"mp-form-row mepr_username\">\n        <div class=\"mp-form-label\">\n                              <label for=\"user_login\">Username<\/label>\n        <\/div>\n        <input type=\"text\" name=\"log\" id=\"user_login\" value=\"\" \/>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mp-form-row mepr_password\">\n        <div class=\"mp-form-label\">\n          <label for=\"user_pass\">Password<\/label>\n          <div class=\"mp-hide-pw\">\n            <input type=\"password\" name=\"pwd\" id=\"user_pass\" value=\"\" \/>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"button mp-hide-pw hide-if-no-js\" data-toggle=\"0\" aria-label=\"Show password\">\n              <span class=\"dashicons dashicons-visibility\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n            <div>\n        <label><input name=\"rememberme\" type=\"checkbox\" id=\"rememberme\" value=\"forever\" \/> Remember Me<\/label>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mp-spacer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n      <div class=\"submit\">\n        <input type=\"submit\" name=\"wp-submit\" id=\"wp-submit\" class=\"button-primary mepr-share-button\" value=\"Log In\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect_to\" value=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115145\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mepr_process_login_form\" value=\"true\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mepr_is_login_page\" value=\"false\" \/>\n      <\/div>\n    <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"trp-form-language\" value=\"en\"\/><\/form>\n    <div class=\"mp-spacer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n    <div class=\"mepr-login-actions\">\n        <a\n          href=\"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/login-2\/?action=forgot_password\"\n          title=\"Click here to reset your password\"\n        >\n          Forgot Password        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n\n      \n    <!-- mp-login-form-end --> \n  <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"smart_content_wrapper\">\nAfter an estimated 20 elephant deaths and countless other wild animals perishing due to single-use plastics in the past decade, officials say a law banning many such items is expected to come into force within weeks. Bags, bottles and packaging are also blamed for clogging drains and causing urban flooding, as well as encouraging a surge in potentially deadly dengue \u2014 spread by mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water. \u201cWe want to create an awareness about the responsible use of plastics,\u201d Anil Jasinghe, the country\u2019s top environment official, told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>Jasinghe said regulations to be published soon will outlaw the sale of a string of single-use plastic items, including cutlery, cups, drinking straws and plastic flower garlands. But it is not Sri Lanka\u2019s first attempt to tackle the problem. Jasinghe admits that implementation has been a problem, noting that a 2006 ban on super-thin plastic bags and food wrapping was openly flouted by manufacturers. \u201cOf course, we raid them time and again, but by raiding we cannot solve the issue,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to have that environmental literacy, so that you change your production lines to better, more environmentally friendly production.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, a notorious garbage dump on the edge of the capital Colombo was shut when a mountain of rotting rubbish collapsed, killing more than 30 people and damaging hundreds of homes. Soon afterwards, Sri Lanka banned all plastic shopping bags \u2014 but the rules were once again not strictly enforced. Similarly, a ban on plastic sachets \u2014 popular for small portions of everything from washing powder to shampoo \u2014 was sidestepped by manufacturers who increased the volume to just above the legal minimum. In addition to manufacturers subverting laws, cash-strapped Sri Lanka also struggles to process what it produces.<\/p>\n<p>The island\u2019s unprecedented economic crisis that began late in 2021 means there has been a pile-up of trash because of a shortage of fuel for garbage trucks. The United Nations says Sri Lanka recycles just three percent of the plastic products it consumes, less than half the world average of 7.2 percent. Plastic bottles are not included in the ban, but the country\u2019s largest recycler of them says it can handle nearly two-thirds more than it is currently processing \u2014 if it could collect the refuse. \u201cWe have the capacity to recycle 400 tonnes a month, but currently we do only 250 tonnes,\u201d said Prasantha Malimbadage, CEO of recycling at Eco Spindles.<\/p>\n<p>The company is turning throwaway plastic bottles into polythene yarn that goes into the manufacture of clothing by top international brands. At Eco Spindles\u2019 recycling facility south of Colombo, nearly 350 workers sort bottles that are crushed and torn into small plastic flakes, the raw material for yarn. \u201cTen bottles go to make a T-shirt and 27 bottles go to make a graduation gown,\u201d Malimbadage said.<\/p>\n<p>A 2020 study by the local Centre for Environmental Justice showed single-use plastics such as bags, food wrappers, straws, polystyrene boxes, cups and cutlery made up almost 15 percent of urban waste. The South Asian nation of 22 million people generates more than 1.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually and half of it ends up in canals, rivers and eventually the Indian Ocean. Cleaning up plastic and stopping more production will also aid health, campaigners say.<\/p>\n<p>Health authorities say the spread of dengue fever has spiked dramatically, from 35,000 cases and 26 deaths in 2021, to 76,600 cases and 72 deaths last year. \u201cWhere plastic containers are dumped, there is a spike in dengue,\u201d said Lahiru Kodituwakku of the National Dengue Control Unit. \u201cThere is a strong correlation between the spread of dengue and plastic waste\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of whether the goal is better health outcomes or reducing pollution, anti-plastic campaigners say implementation remains the key. \u201cThis is a good move,\u201d said Nishshanka de Silva, founder of local environmental group ZeroPlastic Movement. \u201cBut I am concerned if they will actually go ahead and enforce it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/world\/jumbo-problem-sri-lankas-battle-with-plastic-pollution\/article\">DJ<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/vastuullisuusuutiset.fi\/fi\/csr-news-en\/jumbo-problem-sri-lankas-battle-with-plastic-pollution\/\">Jumbo problem: Sri Lanka\u2019s battle with plastic pollution<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/vastuullisuusuutiset.fi\/fi\">Vastuullisuusuutiset.fi<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[555,10531,10532,2686,6422],"class_list":["post-115145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-csr-news-en","tag-jumbo","tag-plasics","tag-problem","tag-sri-lanka"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}