Unwanted waste

Imports of clinical waste to Sri Lanka in more than 200 containers have grabbed headlines in the past few days. The containers, reported to be from the UK, underline a huge concern for Sri Lanka and authorities clearly need to get to the bottom of the issue, find out who is responsible, and take action to ensure similar imports are not allowed into the country again. 

Some of the containers, which were reported to have been imported over the space of two years, were released and subsequently moved to the Katunayake Export Processing zone. The company that allegedly released them from Customs have denied any wrongdoing. However, there are several investigations currently being conducted, including by Customs, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), and the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee. 

In Sri Lanka, it is common for investigations to take place, but the results are rarely revealed to the public. Imports of clinical waste is a serious issue that can affect public health and the environment. Therefore, as a instance when public interest should be at the forefront, it is imperative that these investigations have high levels of transparency, and the public are informed of what is being done to re-export this waste or have it destroyed, and to ensure that similar imports do not happen again. 

Interestingly, Sri Lanka is not the only country to be faced with this issue.  China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand have also announced a crackdown on plastic imports, as they attempt to stem the tide of waste from European countries which are unable or unwilling to dispose of it themselves.

Indonesia announced this month it was sending back dozens of containers full of waste to France, Australia, and other developed nations, while neighbouring Malaysia said in May it was shipping 450 tonnes of imported plastic waste back to its sources. China has also banned the import of waste material, which according to some reports has resulted in new destinations receiving garbage. 

Around 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with much of it ending up in landfills or polluting the seas in what has become a growing international crisis.

In May, 187 countries signed a treaty giving nations the power to block the import of contaminated or hard to recycle plastic trash. A few countries did not sign. One was the US. Sri Lanka has strong relations with the UK, but that should not stop the Government from seeking the origins of these imports and ensuring accountability. Ideally the containers should be returned to where they came from. 

But Sri Lanka is a country that is internationally protected from waste imports. Sri Lanka ratified the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal in 1992, and had taken many steps to ensure implementation of its provisions. As the public well knows, Sri Lanka already has enough challenges in establishing infrastructure needed to dispose of waste generated within the country. All developing countries that are on the receiving end of garbage from developed countries are struggling to scale up their garbage disposal systems. This is a serious enough issue without having additional imports adding to the existing challenge. The public need to keep a close eye on the developments of this issue and ensure that the Government provides a holistic solution.