Report Finds Illegalities in Shipments of Hazardous, Electronic Wastes
Illegalities and violations involving transborder shipment of hazardous and electronic wastes were reported in 11% of containers, according to a Dec. 5 report on the Second International Hazardous Waste Inspection Project. More than 1,000 containers were inspected during the project, the report said. Countries reported using national level (interagency) cooperation in 95% of inspections that took place during the Project and intelligence-led enforcement and/or risk-based profiling was commonly utilized.
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Building capacity among environmental and customs officials for detecting illegal transboundary shipments of hazardous and electronic wastes was the focus of the report, said the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) Seaport Environmental Security Network (SESN).
The report said the project promoted international good practice for environmental inspections at seaports and engaged officials with responsibilities at seaports from Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Scotland, Singapore, and the United States.
It said the project resulted in increased cooperation between environmental and customs officials, an improved understanding of the challenges faced in combating illegal trade in hazardous and electronic wastes, and new information on the international flows of wastes and common modus operandi.
Durwood Zaelke, director of the INECE Secretariat, said: "The personal connections built through this Project, coupled with effective training efforts, can shift the equation towards better detection and stronger controls of illegal waste shipments." In the preparatory work for the project, 86 officials underwent training on capacity building on intelligence-led enforcement, waste takeback, and interagency cooperation during workshops in Cambodia and Thailand, jointly hosted by the Asian Network for Prevention of Illegal Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and the UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.