KARACHI, Jan 11: At least 15 tonnes of toxic waste being “imported” from Europe is expected to land at the Port Qasim on Saturday, it is learnt here reliably.

Conservationists have urged the authorities to thoroughly check the imported goods to ensure that it was the same goods that were declared and not Europe’s hazardous waste material being dumped in the country.

The sources said that goods were being imported from the European Union under the garb of “used computers”.

According to the information provided by a leading international non-governmental organisation working for environmental protection, the Greenpeace International, the cargo is being imported by a Lahore-based firm and its agent to get the goods cleared from the Port Qasim operated from West Wharf Road in Karachi.

Toxic campaigner of the Greenpeace International Martin Hojsik, in his communication to a local NGO, has said that their aim is to prevent dumping of toxic waste like obsolete waste in Pakistan as well as prevent illegal export of such waste from the EU.

The sources said that this was not the first time that the toxic waste was being imported as it had been going on for a long time but owing to the huge sums involved it was exposed very rarely.

They said that after the goods comprising toxic components had outlived their usefulness they had to be properly disposed of and the developed countries were very sensitive about their environment and the relevant authorities there ensured that the stringent environmental protection laws were implemented properly.

The proper disposal cost huge amount of funds.

They said that some unscrupulous business houses in the developed western countries had found a novel method to dispose of the toxic material cheaply.

They found unscrupulous elements in the underdeveloped countries where either the environmental protection laws were not as stringent or the regulators were inefficient and corrupt. In such countries, hazardous goods were imported under the garb of used machinery on the plea that the inexpensive ‘used machinery’ would help boost economy.

Spare parts

At least two cases of such import were earlier reported in time owing to which the hazardous goods could not be brought into the country, the sources added.

At one such instance toxic waste elements were being imported under the garb of spare parts and raw material to be used in an industry, located in the Karachi Export Processing Zone. The matter was reported in time and the goods were stopped forthwith. A follow-up probe revealed that no industry existed in the zone with that name.

Transfer of technology

A mercury plant was being imported from Denmark by a Lahore-based firm under the catchy slogan of “transfer of technology.” However, it was not declared that the plant located in the vicinity of Copenhagen harbour had been shut down by the government of Denmark as its obsolete machinery had released mercury in the sea.

The government here was not moved when the matter appeared in a section of press though the Denmark government banned its export and directed the owners to get it dismantled in an environmental-friendly way in a salt mine.

Conservationists have urged the authorities concerned to get the consignment checked properly to ensure that unscrupulous elements were not making a windfall at the cost of country’s environment.

They said that the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency, the environmental law regulator in the province, was being run by non-technical officials who had no expertise in environmental laws.