Avoiding a recurrence of garbage imports

An academic research paper published in 2019 noted that Marine Plastics Pollution (MPP) is an alarming problem affecting many countries, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, and generated mostly from land-based sources. Five Asian countries were identified as the largest source of MMP sources in the world. These were China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. One could assume that at first glance there was something clearly not adding up with tiny Sri Lanka with its minuscule economy and consumption being amongst the top five contributors to marine plastic pollution, not just in the region but the whole world.

Clues to this mystery started appearing in 2020 when it was discovered that Sri Lanka has been a recipient of many thousands of tons of hazardous waste illegally sent from developed countries. Around the same time, it was reported that several other Asian countries have seen the same pattern and had started pushing back the refuse from wealthier nations. China, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are among countries battling to deal with this avalanche of rubbish imported from rich nations. It is no surprise that these countries feature amongst the main sources for MPP, along with Sri Lanka. We had become a market of choice for waste exporters.

In 2017, China announced strict restrictions on imports of certain types of solid waste, as well as shipments of material contaminated with items that cannot be reprocessed. As a result, waste and scrap exports from countries including the US, UK, France, Canada and Australia are now directed to Southeast Asian countries, where environmental regulation is scant and processing facilities are limited and overwhelmed. The imported hazardous waste cannot be recycled and usually goes straight into unmanaged landfills or rivers, polluting the air and waterways and imperilling the health of both people and wildlife.

Sri Lanka is a victim of this shameful trade. It is welcome news that at least some of the imports have been returned to the United Kingdom. The last of several hundred containers filled with this illegally imported waste was sent back this week in 45 containers. This marks the last batch of 263 containers holding about 3,000 tons of waste that were discovered in 2020. This waste had arrived in Sri Lanka between 2017 and 2019, and was listed as “used mattresses, carpets and rugs”. However, in reality, it contained bio-waste from hospitals, including body parts from mortuaries.

Such a large-scale operation spanning several years would not have been possible without the knowledge, patronage or in the very least incompetence of officials and possible political authorities. While some of this waste was detected in 2020 it is unclear how much of it had been cleared by customs and released to the importer. The matter got the necessary attention only due to the efforts of environmentalists who pursued the matter in the media and the courts. An environmental group called Centre for Environmental Justice launched a petition demanding the re-export of the waste and the Court of Appeal agreed with this demand.

There are no reports in the public domain that suggest that a transparent and credible investigation was carried out into this matter. Neither are there reports of any company, individual or business entity being held for this crime or fined for the damage caused to the environment. Despite the positive news of this week concerning the re-export, there are many unanswered questions regarding this episode. It is necessary to reveal who authorised the import of this waste to Sri Lanka, which companies were involved, how were these containers released from the Port, and was there involvement of officials and politicians in this illegal business? The Government should also clearly state what actions have been taken to prevent the recurrence of such activities.