TUNIS — Tunisia will return more than 280
containers of waste illegally imported from Italy in 2020, the North African
country’s
environment ministry said Monday.
اضافة اعلان
The containers were brought in by a Tunisian company
that falsely claimed that the household waste — barred from import under
Tunisia law — was in fact plastic scrap to be recycled.
The importation had sparked widespread anger,
resulting in protests in Tunisia as people demanded that Italy take back its
refuse.
The waste containers were brought in from the
Campania region in southern Italy, and are currently being stored at a port in
the Tunisian city of Sousse.
A deal was signed on Friday between the two
countries to return the waste to Italy, its country of origin, the Tunisian
environment ministry said Monday.
According to the deal, 213 containers stored at the
port of Sousse will initially be returned, with the first ship set to carry the
waste to Italy on Saturday.
Consultations are ongoing over the fate of the
remaining waste containers stored in Sousse, which were damaged in a fire in
December.
Some 26 people are being prosecuted over their
alleged involvement in illegally importing the waste, including former
environment minister Mustapha Aroui, who was previously arrested.
The manager of the import firm is at large, after
the company signed a deal worth five million euros to dispose of up to 120,000
tonnes of waste.
The case shines a spotlight on the global trade in waste,
which has grown despite stricter regulations aimed at preventing rich countries
from dumping their hazardous refuse on poorer nations.
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