Ozone Friendly Pure Ceylon Tea
Methyl Bromide (MB), also known as bromomethane, is an odorless, colorless but highly toxic gas widely used in agriculture since the 1930s as a fumigant to treat soil against harmful insects, worms and weeds. It is a very effective pesticide and kills organisms that attack crops in fields, storage and buildings.
MB has been used in Sri Lanka since 1965 to exterminate nematodes, weeds and diseases from soils in the nursery and in the field. However, it was discovered that MB is an ozone depleting substance (ODS). ODS are controlled under the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, a multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) ratified by 196 countries that committed to gradually reduce and eventually eliminate their production and consumption of ODS, including methyl bromide. Sri Lanka signed and ratified the Montreal Protocol in 1989 and committed to totally phase out consumption of MB by January 1, 2015 (except in quarantine and pre-shipment uses (QPS)). After years of efforts to shift to alternatives to MB in pest management in the industry, the country has completely phased out the use of MB in all tea plantations. The tea industry in Sri Lanka now uses ozone friendly substitutes in all their operations, and Sri Lanka is now proud to serve ozone friendly tea. Ceylon Tea is widely distributed worldwide, and this mandatory display of the ozone friendly logo will promote awareness on ozone layer protection. In addition, Ceylon Tea will also have a competitive advantage as in recent years, environmentally responsible ozone friendly products have gained value and markets all over the world. |