Colombo, Aug 6 (IANS): Sri Lanka will soon ban coloured plastic water bottles and wrappers on drinking water bottles in order to protect the environment, officials said on Tuesday.

The Information Department, quoting a statement by State Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment Ajith Mannapperuma, said that the government had received a positive response to suspend the manufacture of blue-coloured plastic water bottles and plastic wrappers as it would help protect the nation's environment.

"A large amount of these useless plastic covers are released to the environment daily and they take 200 to 300 years to degrade. The reason for covering these sealed water bottles using non-degradable plastic wrappers is unclear," the Minister was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

"Water bottles have been coloured to attract customers. But coloured water bottles cannot be recycled. So plastic bottle manufacturers were instructed to manufacture transparent bottles," he added.

The government will launch a new project later this month to recycle transparent plastic bottles, the statement said.

The project has already been implemented in Gampaha, on the outskirts of capital Colombo.