Toxic waste, the Ministry of Energy and Environment reacts: We do not accept the return of cargo, the responsibility lies with the two companies

2024-08-24 18:40:00, Politikë CNA

Toxic waste, the Ministry of Energy and Environment reacts: We do not accept the

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, together with the Ministry of Tourism and the Environment, in a clarifying announcement to the media regarding the toxic waste scandal, informs that from the moment these suspicions were signaled last month, the state structures immediately started an intensive exchange of information as well as a joint investigation with OLAF (European Union Anti-Fraud Office). Meanwhile, the media coverage of this problem after the blocking of containers in the ports of China and Thailand, has forced these two institutions to react officially. In the official announcement it is said that

"In both reported cases of transport, from Elbasan to Thailand and from Kosovo to China, the goods declared as iron oxides/hydroxides or zinc concentrate were transported from the Port of Durrës to European ports through international container lines with an undoubted reputation and they were not subject to checks in the EU countries, where they stopped and were temporarily stored, but were allowed to continue their route. From verifications of both logistics processes above, as well as similar cargoes in the past, goods with such classification have never been considered as hazardous waste by customs and environmental authorities."

The announcement also clarifies the point of view of port legislation and maritime transport. According to the two ministries, these goods do not belong to the categorizations provided for in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) and therefore it cannot be alluded to the inaction of the port or maritime administration.

"The facts show that such cargoes have been regularly received by the transit countries and by the final destination countries. More specifically, it turns out that recently 360 such container units have been accepted by the Chinese customs authorities in the last 10 months alone."

Referring to international conventions, where it is foreseen that the declaration of the load as dangerous goods or hazardous waste is the obligation of the exporter or importer, which must be evidenced through the accompanying documentation of the goods from the manufacturer, analyzes and relevant authorizations. Even in this case, the announcement states, it is the investigations of the law enforcement bodies, which we fully support and encourage, that will clarify the responsibility in question.

"The Albanian environmental, port and customs authorities have been operating for years with strict protocols in terms of authorizations for the processing and transport of dangerous goods, in accordance with the relevant international conventions. Moreover, this readiness of our critical infrastructures has been verified and certified in several international inspections during the last years, classifying Albania as a safe country.

In these circumstances, it is not possible for Albania to accept a priori the return of such cargoes, even more so only on the basis of suspicions and speculations, without the realization of exhaustive analyzes and reliable and verifiable legal evidence."

The ministries call for everyone to wait for the results of the respective investigations and analyses, instead of making the law enforcement agencies responsible for the evident efforts of two economic operators, namely one in Albania and the other in Kosovo.

On the other hand, we assure the public opinion that this is the truth based on national and international laws and real facts, while the others are toxic consumption of the political and media market./CNA