Ewaste discovered at Westport

Illegal activity: Ewaste, scrap metal and plastic waste were found in 29 containers during an (pic, below) inspection by DOE officers in Westport.

KLANG: Eighteen containers out of 29 inspected by the Selangor Environment Department (DOE) at Westport were found to contain ewaste, with the other 11 containers filled with scrap metal and plastic waste.

Selangor DOE will issue instruction notices to the companies that imported the waste material, ordering them to return the waste to the countries of origin under the Basel Convention procedures, according to a statement posted on the website of the DOE Malaysia Facebook Timeline.

The Basel Convention is an international treaty formulated to prevent the irresponsible transboundary movement of hazardous waste.

The statement added that the Selangor DOE had issued 29 instruction notices involving 93 containers to importers as of April 30.

When contacted, Selangor DOE director Nor Aziah Jaafar said her department carried out regular inspections with the Customs Department to seek out suspected illegal shipments.

“We direct the return of these illicit waste material shipments to their countries of origin.

“But some still manage to find their way into the country,” she added.

According to Nor Aziah, the DOE then visits the company premises listed in the import documentation after ordering the return of the illegal waste products.

However, she added, the addresses given on the import documentation are usually fake, with no such premises in existence at the stated locations.

“The containers that ‘escape’ frequently end up in secret locations or difficult-to-find transit points,” she said.

Nor Aziah said investigations revealed that the waste brought in illegally here was also traded and distributed to other illegal waste processing centres and operators throughout the country.

“These illegal companies operate by processing ewaste and other waste products on idle land they rent from local owners.

“The sad part is that the landowners are always unaware that illegal activities are being carried out on their properties,” she said, adding that it was a difficult and tricky situation.