Use of plastics, polythene products to be minimised - Ministry Secretary Daily News (via HT Media Ltd.) Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has banned several polythene and plastic based products with effect from March 31. We do not prohibit the use of plastic and polythene products in order to eliminate their use altogether. Our goal is to minimise their use as much as possible, said Environment Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe. “The Ministry has taken into consideration the impact on the environment as well as human health in enforcing the ban on polythene and plastic based products,” he said. He was speaking at a media briefing at the Ministry of Environment yesterday (13).