SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Environment Department and Customs Department have jointly seized three containers carrying electrical and electronic waste (ewaste) weighing 100 tonnes at West Port, Klang.
Its director Nor Aziah Jaafar said an inspection of the containers on Thursday found that they contained used computer hardware and wire from the United States and Spain.
“The inspection also found that the importer had declared the trade material as aluminium scraps to evade the authorities.
“Instruction notices under Section 31(1) and Section 37(1) of the Environmental Quality Act 1975 will be issued to the importing companies to return the containers to the countries of origin under the Basel Convention procedure,” Bernama quoted her as saying.
Among the main principles of the Basel Convention are that hazardous waste must be disposed of in the country where the waste was produced; cross-border movement of waste is allowed if it is managed in an “Environmentally Sound Manner”; cross-border movement of waste is only allowed after obtaining the consent of the importing country; and the exporting country must re-import the waste if the exporter’s activities cannot be completed.
