Plastic waste may have been sent to Malaysia via Sri Lanka – Environmentalist

Plastic waste may have been sent to Malaysia via Sri Lanka – Environmentalist
Published 25 January 2020

 

by Rathindra Kuruwita

COLOMBO (The Island/ANN) - Centre for Environmental Justice say that it is highly unlikely that Sri Lanka is the country of origin of plastic waste container that wound up in Malaysia and that waste may have been imported and re-exported to Malaysia.

It was highly unlikely that Sri Lanka was the actual country of origin of the container of plastic waste which is to be sent here by Malaysia, Executive Director of Centre for Environmental Justice, Hemantha Withanage told The Island yesterday.

Withanage said the Customs Department should coordinate with the Malaysian authorities, identify the consignee and question the company on the issue.

"It is possible that someone imported plastic waste from another country and re-exported it to Malaysia. The Customs can identify who sent the container and what is inside it. We don’t need to take it back if the garbage didn’t originate from Sri Lanka."

He said that during the last decade or so, Sri Lanka had become a major importer of waste, mainly from developed nations. "The latest incident might also reveal that we have also become a hub for re-exporting."

On Monday, Malaysia announced that it had sent back 150 containers of plastic waste to several countries, including Sri Lanka, since the third quarter of last year.

An AFP dispatch from Butterworth, Penanag said: "Malaysia has sent back 150 shipping containers of plastic waste to mostly wealthier nations, with the Southeast Asian country saying Monday it would not be the world’s "garbage dump"."