According to officials, Sri Lanka shipped out to Britain the last of hundreds of containers filled with thousands of tonnes of illegally imported waste on Monday. In recent years, several Asian countries have resisted an onslaught of refuse from wealthy nations and have begun turning back unwanted shipments. It was listed as ‘used mattresses, carpets and rugs’ when it arrived in Sri Lanka between 2017 and 2019.
According to customs officials, it also contained body parts from morgues and hospital biowaste. A strong odor emanated from some of the containers since they were not chilled. 45 containers were loaded on a ship at a Colombo port on Monday, marking the end of a convoy of 263 containers holding around 3,000 tonnes of waste. According to Vijitha Ravipriya, customs chief, if there are fresh attempts to import hazardous cargo, they will be vigilant and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
In September 2020, customs officials reported that 21 containers of medical waste were returned to Britain. The waste was imported from Britain by a local company that claimed it planned to recover springs from used mattresses as well as cotton for resale abroad. Customs did not find credible evidence that such ‘resource recovery’ was taking place. In 2020, a group of local environmental activists filed a petition demanding the waste be returned to its sender, and Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal granted the petition.
Customs claimed that all the containers had been brought into the country in violation of international law governing the shipment of hazardous waste, including plastics. An investigation conducted by Sri Lanka in 2019 revealed 180 tonnes of waste imported in 2017 and 2018 had been reshipped to India and Dubai. In addition, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia have returned hundreds of containers of refuse to their countries of origin.
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