Sri Lanka has returned a large consignment of British containers that the government says were brought’ to the island in violation of international law on the transfer of hazardous materials.
Customs told AFP that the 21 containers - which contained 260
tonnes of rubbish - first arrived by ship at the capital Colombo's main port
between September 2017 and March 2018, adding that they arrived in Sri Lanka on
Saturday. Departed
Authorities say the target was used mattresses, carpets and
rugs, but also hospital waste.
"The ship agreed to take back the 21 containers,"
customs spokesman Sunil Jayaratne told AFP on Sunday.
"We are working to get compensation from those responsible
for bringing the containers into the country."
Customs did not disclose the nature of the hospital waste, but
officials said the illegally imported containers included rags, bandages and
body parts from the mortgage.
Another 242 containers from the UK, which the government says
are carrying illegal waste in violation of international law, have been left’
in the same port and free trade zone outside the capital.
They came in 2017 and 2018.
The government is currently pursuing legal action against the
ship for removing 242 containers from the country.
An investigation into Sri Lanka's 3,000 tonnes of illegally
imported hazardous waste last year found that the importer re-exchanged about
180 tonnes between India and Dubai in 2017 and 2018.
Numerous Asian countries, sick of the world's richest garbage
dumps, have returned waste from foreign shores in the past two years.
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