ASEAN ups ante against waste dumping

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – South East Asian countries Friday unanimously called out dumping of trash in the region.

At the ongoing foreign minister’s meeting in Bangkok, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) said that the increased illegal transboundary movement of hazardous waste and other wastes in the region was “a growing threat and adversely effecting human health and the environment”.

The joint statement of 10-member ASEAN came after Indonesia and Philippines collected thousands of tons of waste and sent loads of trucks back to Canada and Australia while Malaysia and Cambodia are following suit.

Philippines sent almost 1,500 tons of repatriated rubbish to Canadia and Ontario paid the shipping charges.

Early in July, Indonesian officials paraded containers of paper from Australia before media which were ready to be sent back. The officials said that the trucks were full of electronic waste, used cans, plastic bottles, old bottles of engine oil and loose shoes.

Expressing dismay over making South East Asia a dumping yard, the ASEAN foreign ministers said: “we rejected the illegal transboundary movement of wastes to our region, and emphasized that all states take necessary measures to ensure the environmentally sound management of hazardous waste and chemical waste in their respective jurisdictions to ensure the protection of human health and the environment, and enhance cooperation with other jurisdictions, including through the exchange of relevant information and capacity building.”

They emphasized on enhancing international cooperation in preventing illegal traffic of transboundary movement of hazardous chemicals and wastes in line with agreed international frameworks.