Govt says oppose waste import; will amend law
Speaking to Atoll Times, Shauna said that the government does not support the import of waste and the bill proposed by the government does not allow it.
Environment minister Aiminath Shauna said on Monday that the government does not support the import of waste into the Maldives and will amend the law, which has been ratified to allow the import of waste.
On 18 November the parliament passed the Waste Management Bill, which included an article added by the parliament's environment and climate change committee stating that waste can be imported into the country in accordance with the regulations made under the Act.
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According to the article, 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.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the bill on Sunday amid concerns raised by various environmental advocacy groups.
Speaking to Atoll Times, Shauna said that the government does not support the import of waste and the bill proposed by the government does not allow the import of waste.
"It's a big change that's been extended at the last minute. It didn't even come to my notice," Shauna said.
She added:
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No regulations that allow import of waste into Maldives will be made
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The bill was ratified as it was to ensure that several important provisions in the law can be implemented as soon as possible
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One such provision is that the process of recovering outstanding waste collection bills to WAMCO can start begin after the bill is ratified
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Ministry is currently drafting the amendment to the bill; as soon as it is completed, the amendment will be sent to the Attorney General's (AG) office
This comes in the wake of concerns raised by Transparency Maldives and several environmental advocacy organisations over Section 44 of the Waste Management Act. They pointed out:
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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.
