News
CEA, Customs yet dragging their feet over taking action against toxic garbage importers
By Ifham Nizam
The responsible authorities are now discussing what action to take against the two companies -Ceylon Metal Processing (pvt) Ltd and Hayley’s Hub – which imported toxic garbage from the United Kingdom.
The Sri Lankan Government would demand Rs. 1.6 billion from the United Kingdom for illegal dumping of waste in Colombo in clear violation of the Basel Convention, a senior government official said.
The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and the Department of the Customs would also file action against those who were behind the import of British garbage. An informed official said that though supposedly only two local companies were behind it, technically four private firms were involved.
Senior officials of both the Department of Customs and CEA yesterday told The Island that they were having discussions on penalties to be imposed. However, due to the second wave of Covid-19, they had to go slow especially due to the shortage of human resources, they claimed.
It is not clear why they took nearly three years to move against the local collaborators of the toxic scam.
The Island reliably learns that though the parties concerned in the United Kingdom have agreed to pay, neither stakeholders of the Environment Ministry and Customs is aware of it.
Environment Ministry officials told The Island Minister Amaraweera had requested them to monitor the development of the waste containers dumped here and act fast.
Ministry officials said Sri Lanka Customs Department and Central Environmental Authority had agreed to prosecute the companies responsible for the illegal importation of post-consumer waste.
Meanwhile, after a yearlong court process, on Wednesday the Court of Appeal ordered repatriation of 243 waste containers imported from the UK.
Court also ordered authorities to take legal action against the companies involved in the illegal importation.
Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Executive Director Hemantha Withanage who was the first to take action against, the garbage containers dumped here, told The Island that those waste containers had been imported by Ceylon Metal Processing (pvt) Ltd in 2017 with the support of Hayley’s group and found in Hayley’s Hub operation location in Katunayaka Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and in the China container terminal in Colombo Harbour. The UK exporter Vanguard is owned by the brother of the Sri Lankan importer.
During the legal process the Court requested the Government analyst to produce a report after examining the containers, which was not done due to the lack of capacity. Later the Ministry of Environment and the Central Environmental Authority negotiated with the UK Basel Focal point to take them back.
As a pilot activity two agencies repatriated 21 containers imported by the same companies which are not the subject matter of the case filed by the CEJ. Later the UK Environmental Agency sent an email indicating their interest to take them back.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), was held today (21) at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, Admiral Paparo extended his best wishes to President Disanayake and the new government on their planned initiatives. He also acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continued support in ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean region and maintaining a peaceful maritime environment.
Furthermore, Admiral Paparo reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to strengthening the enduring bilateral ties between the two nations and expressed support for Sri Lanka’s new governmental policies.
President Disanayake conveyed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the United States in enhancing human resources within Sri Lanka’s defence sector. The President also acknowledged the longstanding support extended by the U.S. in this regard.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony C. Nelson of the U.S. Army, and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the United States Indo-Pacific Command David Ranz were also present at the meeting.
SriLankan Airlines has announced that SriLankan Airlines flights UL 503 (Colombo to London Heathrow), scheduled to depart at 12:50 hrs and UL 504 (London Heathrow to Colombo), scheduled to depart at 20:40 hrs today [21 March 2025], have been cancelled.
Passengers requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the SriLankan Airlines Customer Centre at 1979 (within Sri Lanka), +94117 77 1979 (international) or +94744 44 1979 (WhatsApp chat) or reach out to their nearest SriLankan Airlines office or their travel agent.
The United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport has closed until midnight on Friday due to a power outage, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.
London’s main airport, which is Europe’s busiest gateway, said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow airport said in a post on X.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the shutdown would affect “at least” 1,351 flights.
“We’re trying to stop passengers from travelling to the airport, and then work with airline partners on flights that are delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” a Heathrow spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Passengers can reach out to airline partners to work on rebooking.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from London, said the roads leading to the airport were blocked, causing “traffic chaos locally”.
“But local traffic disruption is nothing compared to the air traffic disruptions that will be spreading around the world,” he said.
Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.
The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 different countries and territories, and last year handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
[Aljazeera]
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