"Handle It in Developed Countries" Sri Lanka Returns 21 Garbage Containers to UK

Sri Lanka Customs "First Return in South Asia"

The island located in the middle of the North Pacific, 'GPGP (Great Pacific Garbage Patch),' is a massive garbage island made of plastic, covering an area 15 times larger than South Korea. The 'plastic bag collection crisis' triggered by China's ban on importing recyclable waste is a clear example showing that the backlash of recyclable waste has come right to our doorstep.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Twenty-one illegal waste containers that were smuggled from the UK to Sri Lanka are returning to their home country after more than three years.

According to local media such as News First on the 27th, Sri Lankan customs authorities stated, "The shipowner agreed to retrieve the 21 waste containers, which departed yesterday," adding, "This is the first time waste containers have been returned from South Asia."

The authorities also pointed out that "importing waste violates the Basel Convention." The Basel Convention prohibits the transboundary movement of hazardous waste.

The 21 containers, each carrying up to 260 tons (t) of waste, were loaded onto ships between September 2017 and March 2018 and arrived at the port of Colombo, the administrative capital of Sri Lanka. The containers were supposed to carry used carpets and mattresses for recycling, but they were filled with plastic waste and even medical waste from hospitals. A total of about 260 containers were found abandoned and seized. Customs authorities are also proceeding with legal procedures to return the remaining 242 containers.

Since China stopped importing waste plastics in 2018, developed countries have been secretly exporting plastic waste to Southeast Asian countries, causing ongoing problems. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and others have repeatedly returned waste containers to developed countries, stating they "will not become the world's garbage dump."

The Malaysian government announced earlier this year, "Since the second half of last year, we have sent back 150 containers to 13 wealthy countries, and we plan to return an additional 110 containers by mid-year."