By Sarah HannanSri Lanka Customs is facing difficulties securing space on ships to reship the waste containers, which are currently held at the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (FTZ), to the UK. Legal paperwork was completed to proceed, with the court order being issued by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) in September, and the reshipment of the remaining garbage containers was to commence from October onwards. Accordingly, a total of 123 waste containers have been reshipped in consignments to the UK: On 26 September, 21 containers were sent on SEAMAX NORWALK; on 30 October, 20 containers were reshipped on TEXAS TRIUMPH; and on 6 November, 65 containers were sent on EVER GOVERN, seven containers on MSC QINGDAO, and 10 containers on MV MSC LEANNE. It was stated that the UK’s Environmental Agency in July had agreed to accept the controversial waste containers exported to Sri Lanka by a UK company. The court previously instructed the Government Analyst’s Department to submit a report after inspecting the garbage consignments at both the Port of Colombo (111 containers) and the Katunayake FTZ (130 containers).

Source: The Nation November 22, 2020 04:52 UTC