Out of the seven types of plastics Sri Lanka used, one was hard to recycle, Prof. Rangika Bandara of Department of Zoology and Environmental Management, University of Kelaniya, said on Thursday.The seven types of commonly used plastics are Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC or Vinyl), Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS or Styrofoam) and Other.
Number seven is for all plastics, other than those identified by numbers 1-6, and also plastics that may be layered or mixed with different types of plastics, such as bioplastics.
They also have a very low recycle rate quality.
“In Sri Lanka these are mainly seen as thin wrappers, like we see in biscuit wrappers. It is tough to recycle them, and in the case of Sri Lanka we do not have the ability to recycle these articles at all,” she said.
Prof. Bandara said that single use plastics can come from any of the seven types aforementioned.Ajith Weerasundara, Deputy Director General, Waste Management, said that plastics have been numbered, based on how easy it is to recycle them.
“Plastics in category one are easier to recycle. Seven is very tough. In recycling, the heat at which a plastic melts is important. Plastics in the seventh category are a mixture of various types of plastics. Hence, recycling becomes trickier,” he said.
Earlier this week, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) announced that the manufacture and sale of nine more single-use plastic products will be banned from 01 October. (RK)