27/09/2026
Should We Ban Plastic — or Build a Better Recycling Industry?
I see a lot of discussion in Sri Lanka about banning plastic products.
Even in the business community, I’ve heard people say, “Don’t invest too much in plastic because one day plastic will be banned.” Some bank managers also have concerns about financing businesses connected to the plastic industry because of the possibility of future restrictions.
But honestly, I think we are looking at the problem from the wrong side.
The real question shouldn't only be:
“How do we ban plastic?”
The question should be:
“What are we going to do with the plastic waste after consumers use it?”
Plastic is deeply connected to many industries, especially food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical and packaging industries. For example, the bottled-water industry cannot simply operate without suitable packaging materials such as PET bottles.
So instead of looking at PET only as a problem, why can't we create an industry around the waste?
In many countries, recycled plastic is being converted into different products — road and construction materials, tiles, pallets, textile fibres and yarn, furniture, household products, industrial products and many other applications.
That creates a market for waste.
And when there is a market, people invest.
When people invest, waste collection networks develop.
When waste collection improves, the value of waste increases.
And when the value of waste increases, people have an actual financial reason to collect it instead of throwing it away.
Sri Lanka already has a few businesses using PET waste for products such as brushes, and there are companies using recycled PET in textile applications. But compared with the potential of this material, I believe we are still far behind.
One of the biggest problems is the economics of PET recycling.
Today, PET waste can be bought at roughly Rs. 65–85 per kg, while certain types of polythene waste can reach around Rs. 150–160 per kg. These prices can vary depending on the grade, cleanliness and location, but the difference shows something important:
There is a stronger established market for some recycled polythene products than for PET.
Why?
Because there are more established end products and applications creating demand.
So why don't we create more products using PET waste?
Imagine if Sri Lanka had companies manufacturing:
♻️ Recycled PET yarn
♻️ PET-based construction products
♻️ Plastic pallets
♻️ Tiles and paving products
♻️ Furniture and other durable products
♻️ Industrial sheets and profiles
♻️ Packaging products where recycled PET is suitable
♻️ Geotextiles and other civil-engineering products
♻️ Strapping and industrial materials
♻️ Many other value-added recycled plastic products
Then the demand for PET waste would increase.
If demand increases, the price of collected PET can increase.
If the price increases, more people will start collecting it.
If collection increases, recycling plants can operate at better capacity.
And if recycling becomes profitable, investors will come.
That is how you build an industry.
🇱🇰 What can Sri Lanka do?
In my opinion, the government doesn't necessarily have to spend billions creating everything itself.
Instead, it can make recycling businesses more attractive for private investors.
For example:
• Reduce or waive certain import taxes on recycling machinery and equipment.
• Provide tax incentives for companies that invest in PET recycling.
• Consider income-tax concessions based on the amount of PET waste a company actually recycles.
• Create proper PET collection points across the country.
• Encourage supermarkets and large retail chains to become collection points.
• Introduce reverse-vending machines where consumers can return PET bottles and receive points, discounts or other incentives.
• Create partnerships between beverage companies, supermarkets, recyclers and local authorities.
• Make it easier for recycling companies to obtain financing for recycling machinery.
• Encourage research and development into new products made from recycled PET.
There are many more options we can explore.
Sri Lanka already has waste collectors and recycling businesses, but one of the biggest challenges is building a large, efficient and commercially sustainable collection system.
And this isn't an impossible concept.
Internationally, recycled plastics are already being used for many different applications. The challenge is creating enough collection volume and a reliable market for the recovered material.
🌱 We have to look at both sides
Sometimes we think:
“If we ban plastic, the environment will automatically become better.”
But it's not always that simple.
Every material has an environmental cost.
We shouldn't replace one problem with another without looking at the complete life cycle of the product.
And let's take paper as another example.
Most of us automatically think paper is environmentally friendly because it is biodegradable and recyclable.
But paper also has an environmental impact because it depends on trees, water, energy and other resources to produce it.
As a rough estimate, one tree can produce around 8,000–8,300 standard sheets of copy paper, although this can vary depending on the type and size of the tree and the type of paper being produced.
Now think about a medium-sized company using 8,000 or more sheets every month just for documents, printing and administration.
That's a significant amount of paper being consumed.
Of course, this doesn't mean paper is “bad” or that we should stop using it.
Paper can absolutely be a responsible material when it comes from well-managed forests or recycled sources. There are also certification systems such as FSC that promote responsible forest management and responsible sourcing.
My point is simply that every material has an environmental impact.
We shouldn't look at plastic as the only problem and assume that replacing it with another material automatically solves the environmental issue.
We need to look at the complete picture:
How do we produce it?
How do we use it?
How do we collect it?
How do we recycle it?
And how do we reuse it?
♻️ Let's change the way we look at PET waste
I work in the PET packaging industry, so naturally I see this issue from a different angle.
For me, PET waste shouldn't be treated only as garbage. It should be treated as a raw material.
Instead of asking:
❌ “How can we ban plastic?”
Maybe we should also be asking:
✅ “How can we make plastic recycling so profitable that nobody wants to throw it away?”
Because when waste has a value, people will collect it.
When people collect it, recyclers can survive.
When recyclers survive, investors will come.
And when investors come, new products and technologies will develop.
That is how we can move towards a real circular economy in Sri Lanka. 🇱🇰♻️
This is just my personal opinion, and I would genuinely like to hear what others think, especially people involved in recycling, manufacturing, supermarkets, waste collection and environmental work.
What other ideas do you think Sri Lanka can implement to make PET recycling a profitable industry?
