Importers of foreign waste will not be allowed to sully the environment anymore. The ministry of environment and forests (MEF) has alerted the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) to the practice of smuggling in of hazardous waste mixed with quotas of legitimate cargo.

The MEF has asked the ministry of steel, the Metal and Scrap Trading Corporation, the Indian Zinc Information Centre and the Aluminium Association of India to determine the total demand, indigenous production and import needs for scrap and wastes. These organisations are also to enlist the organised sector reprocessing units. The idea is to use up indigenously-produced waste before allowing imports.

Also, the ministry may soon license only those reprocessing units to import waste which have pollution control equipment. It has commenced the reclassification of hazardous waste under the Basel convention, relating to the transboundary movement of hazardous substances.

Ministry officials feel that the road is finally leading up to a revision of the Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989.