COLOMBO, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka produces around 938 metric tons of plastic waste every day, but only 4 percent is recycled, the Department of Communication of the Parliament said on Saturday, citing a parliament committee.
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development has revealed that only 32 percent of plastic waste was collected, according to a press release.
The committee said that industrialists have been allowed to import secondary plastic without any oversight.
It has also been revealed that Sri Lanka annually imports 400,000 metric tons of plastic raw materials and 20,000 metric tons of waste plastic, the communication department said, and the committee instructed environmental officials to increase the incentives given for plastic collection.
Plastic waste is a serious problem in Sri Lanka, and the government recently banned single-use plastics in the country. ■
