Soil that Taiwan is trying to dump in the Solomon Islands is factory waste that could cause pollution, a government official said in Honiara yesterday.
Solomons-based Haura Development Investment Holdings Import and Export Company says it is importing up to three million tonnes of what it calls "humus soil" to dump in Makira island, a largely untouched densely wooded swamp also known as San Cristobal.
The Solomons, one of the few countries in the world to recognize Taiwan, is trying to recover from a three-year-long civil war which has left its economy in ruins.
It has been supported recently by loans from Taiwan worth US$25 million, apparently with no security offered.
Principal quarantine officer Daniel Vagatora said the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock was advising against the importation, saying it contains metal and can pollute the environment.
"It's really factory waste," he said. "The truth is that it is not humus soil that the company wants to import but waste mainly from textile factories. It contains heavy metals and can pollute the environment."
The proposal also flouts the 1995 Waigani Convention which bans the importation into Pacific Forum nations of "hazardous and radioactive wastes and seeks to control the transboundary movement and management of hazardous wastes."
RSS