Bill submitted to ban import of waste

A bill has been submitted to the Parliament to repeal the provision in the Waste Management Act which allows the import of waste into Maldives.

The provision which allows the import of waste had been added to the law, ratified on December 18, 2022, during the committee stage.

The provision had drawn concern from many.

Article 44 of Waste Management Act states that no form of waste may be imported into Maldives without permission from the Environment Ministry. It states that permission for import of waste will be issued in accordance with regulations drafted by the ministry.

Following criticism over the clause, President’s Office spokesperson Miuvaan Mohamed said the government does not support the import of waste into Maldives, and will submit an amendment.

The bill was submitted to the Parliament on behalf of the government by Komandoo MP Ahmed Rashid. The first reading of the bill was held Wednesday.

The bill is designed to repeal the contentious provision, and ban the import of any form of waste into Maldives.

The provision had not been there in the original bill, but had been added while it had been under review by the Parliament’s Environment Committee.

Following the bill’s ratification, the Environment Ministry, too, stated it does not support the import of waste into Maldives.