An official from Sri Lanka said Tuesday that Sri Lanka has returned 263 of the 263 containers of waste shipped from Britain. This was in response to the growing concern among developing countries about the possibility of importing refuse or other environmentally harmful items from wealthy countries.
Two years ago, customs officials in South Asia identified a large shipment of waste, including mattresses and carpets, that was being imported by local importers.
Ajith Weerasundara, deputy environmental chief, said that the country’s last 45 containers were shipped out on Monday.
Sri Lanka is a signatory to the Basel Convention that regulates transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous waste, especially in developing countries.
Weerasundara stated that authorities will continue to be vigilant to prevent waste disposal in the country.
In recent years, many countries in Southeast Asia have resisted trash exports from developed countries. After a Chinese ban, Malaysia repatriated 150 containers mostly of plastic waste to developed nations in 2020.
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff. It is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.