A ban on shopping bags and lunch sheets will be implemented, although no alternatives have been offered, said Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera. Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera said that the Ministry of Environment has decided to implement the ban on shopping bags and lunch sheets in the next few weeks. Today (13) at the Ministry of Environment, the Lions Club 306 B 2 District presented to the Ministry of Environment the proposed Environmental Management Plan to be implemented during the period 2021-22. The Lions Club also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with District 306 B 2 and the Institute of Environmental Professionals on the implementation of the plan. The Ministry of Environment, Lions Club 306 B 2 District and the Institute of Environmental Professionals have also agreed to implement this plan. Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera, District Governor Kaushalya Rajapaksa and Prof. Mrs.Niranjani Ratnayake were also present on the occasion. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Environment said, "As the Ministry of Environment, we have implemented a number of programs for the environmental protection of our country. In particular we have implemented the ban on polythene and plastics which are widely used in our country.. We have banned 05 polythene and plastic products since March 31." He stated that a list of 08 more categories has been prepared for future bans. "Banning two of them would probably be controversial. That's lunch sheets and shopping bags. These two types that cause the most pollution in our country are released into the environment in millions every day. One supermarket chain alone issues billions of shopping bags a year to consumers for free. The total amount of shopping bags discarded in the island annually is around 02 billion," the Minister said.