A coalition of five leading supermarket chains announced the launching of a campaign to completely deter the use of plastic shopping bags by their customers from August 1, 2008 with the support of Central Environmental Authority (CEA). Commenting on the initiative, Udaya Gammanpila, Chairman, CEA said, "One of the objectives of the National Policy on Solid Waste Management in Sri Lanka is to ensure the environmental accountability and social responsibility of all waste generators, waste managers and service providers.' "The policy also recognizes that solid waste will be managed in accordance with the 3R principle, with special emphasis on waste preventive approaches. The initiative taken by the leading supermarkets in the country, namely Arpico Supercentre, Cargills Food City, Keells Super, Laugfs SunUp and Magna, is aligned with the national needs and objectives and I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude and well wishes for the successful implementation of this programme. I sincerely hope that other entrepreneurs in the trade, too, would follow in the footsteps of these leading supermarkets,' Gammanpila added.