The 21 containers -- holding up to 260 tonnes of rubbish -- first arrived by ship in the capital Colombo's main port between September 2017 and March 2018, customs told AFP, adding that they departed Sri Lanka on Saturday. They were meant to carry used mattresses, carpets and rugs, but had also contained hospital waste, officials said. "The shipper had agreed to take back these 21 containers," customs spokesman Sunil Jayaratne told AFP on Sunday. Customs did not reveal the type of hospital waste, but previous illegally imported containers had included rags, bandages and body parts from mortuaries, according to officials. The government is currently engaged in legal action against the shipper to have the 242 containers removed from the country.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 27, 2020 09:33 UTC