Garbage shipment: Court of Appeal orders not to move the garbage inland

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Court of Appeal issued an interim injunction order preventing the imported garbage found at Katunanyake Free Trade Zone and the containers in the Colombo Port, from being taken to any internal location in the country today(July 31). President of the Court of Appeal Yasantha Kodagoda and Justice Arjuna Obeysekara also issued an order preventing the containers from being re-exported without the approval of the Court. The Court of Appeal granted leave to proceed for the case filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice regarding the garbage. It ordered that notices be issued against the respondents to appear before the court on the 20th of September. Hayleys Free Zone Limited, ETL Private Limited, the BOI, the Central Environment Authority, the Director-General of Customs, and the Attorney General have been named as the respondents for this case. Meanwhile, the Surakimu Sri Lanka National Movement arrived today at the premises of the Central Environmental Authority to request them to take legal action against the import of garbage containers into the country. Ven. Pahiyangala Ananda Sagara Thero, Chairman of the Movement noted that no party was held accountable regarding this heinous crime and each party is passing the responsibility to each other. Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority, Isura Devapriya responded that they will take steps to remove the garbage at the Katunayake Free Trade Zone out of the country and take legal action against the company responsible for importing it. He added that the Central Environmental Authority is obliged to do nothing more. While the issue of garbage import continues to aggravate in Sri Lanka as officials stagnate, Indonesia has sent back a consignment of garbage containers that were imported from France and Hong Kong. Indonesian Customs officials stated that the containers included plastic and hazardous waste and they were imported in violation of Indonesian laws. Meanwhile, a French news outlet reported that several Asian countries are sending back garbage containers imported from developed countries. Colombia had sent back 1600 tonnes of garbage to Canada and America while Malaysia had turned back containers carrying 450 tonnes of waste from Australia and a number of other countries.