Government to amend bill amid backlash on waste-to-energy model
"Waste-to-energy generation is something the country will do, but it should not be done by importing waste into the country," Ali Solih said.
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By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
The Waste Management Bill that faced criticism will be sent for amendment as soon as the parliament breaks from recess, environment ministry said on Thursday.
Parliament passed the bill in November after the parliamentary environment committee made amendments to it.
The environment ministry's decision to send the bill for amendment came after a number of environmental advocacy organisations issued a statement on Wednesday expressing concern over Section 44 of the bill.
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The clause states that waste can be imported into the country with the permission of the ministry
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This was not the case when the government introduced the bill; when it was introduced, there was a ban on the import of waste
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The parliamentary committee cited the rationale for including the clause in the bill as that while the Maldives is considering power generation from waste, it is important to have the permission in case of difficulty in getting waste.
Concerns of organisations:
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Waste-to-energy projects are financially and technically burdensome
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Incinerator operators are already allowed to import waste into the country; these organisations have raised these concerns in the past
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They urged the president to send back the bill without ratification
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They also call for regulations to ensure that foreign companies are not allowed to turn the country into a garbage dumping ground.
State environment minister Ali Solih told Atoll Times on Thursday that the ministry has been receiving a lot of concerns from lawmakers and members of the public regarding the clause. The ministry had decided to send the bill back to parliament for amendment, he said.
Ali Solih said the government was also concerned that the bill facilitated the import of waste into the Maldives. He pointed out that it was an amendment brought in by parliament without even the knowledge of the ministry.
"There are a lot of important things in the Bill that need to be done immediately. When this law came, I was very sad that something like this existed in it", said Ali Solih.
"Once the next session begins, we will move an amendment to the bill."
He said he did not believe that the government's waste-to-energy project would need waste to be imported.
"Waste-to-energy generation is something the country will do, but it should not be done by importing waste into the country," Ali Solih said.
