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by Chiu Yu-Tzu, Taipei Times

International environmental groups condemned yesterday a proposal by Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group to ship over 4000 tons of mercury-contaminated waste to France.

"The proposed shipment of Taiwanese waste to France is irresponsible and most probably illegal. The French Government must take action now to stop it," said Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network (BAN) secretariat.

Puckett said the prospect of importing Asian waste to France should be alarming to French citizens.

"France must not become the pay-toilet for the entire world." Gaelle Ecobichon of the National Center for Independent Information on Waste

French waste handler Tredi plans to import the waste and is considering dumping it in France's Ani prefecture.

The mercury-tainted waste has been sitting in Kaohsiung harbor since April when it was returned to Taiwan after its original shipment to Sihanoukville Cambodia last year ignited an international fiasco.

Since then, Formosa has tried and failed to ship the waste to four separate sites in the US.

"It is only right that communities all over the world, and now in France, should reject this waste. France must refuse cooperation with a company which searches the globe for cheap disposal sites rather than treating the waste in a responsible manner on their corporate site in Taiwan," said Gaelle Ecobichon of the National Center for Independent Information on Waste (CNIID).

Ecobichon told the Taipei Times that local green activists in Paris had spoken to government officials from the French environment ministry last week, but officials mistakenly thought the waste was from Japan instead of Taiwan.

However, Alain Strebelle, an official responsible for products and waste at France's environmental ministry, confirmed later in an interview with Agence France Presse (AFP) that the request to import the waste had come from Taiwan.

Ecobichon said officials had confirmed Tredi was seeking support from residents in Ain to dispose of the waste there.

Environmentalists warned that the waste had already been implicated in the deaths of two men exposed to it in Cambodia.

Its discovery had also caused panic which led to rioting in Sihanoukville, resulting in five other deaths.

Environmental groups also cited regulations by the United Nations treaty known as the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, which France has joined.

The treaty calls for an end to free trade in toxic waste. As Taiwan is not a party to the Basel Convention, without a special bilateral agreement between Taiwan and France, the export would be illegal. Furthermore, the Basel Convention requires countries to ensure that adequate disposal facilities are provided domestically in order to minimize the trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste.

Such a violation could have far-reaching implications, Puckett said.

"If France is willing [to accept the controversial waste], local waste-disposal communities which thought they might only be subject to French waste may very well be facing many more huge shipments of toxic waste each year. The potential volume is unlimited," said Puckett.

Ecobichon agreed, suggesting a different approach to the problem of handling waste was needed.

"France must not become the pay-toilet for the entire world. Rather than importing toxic waste, France should be exporting appropriate waste management technologies that reduce and stabilize waste at source," said Ecobichon.

Meanwhile, the controversial waste sits at Kaoshiung Port's Wharf 63.

According to port authorities, some shipping companies have complained about the limited space left available to them.

Officials said the devastating earthquake on Sept. 21 did not affect the waste and that they are now examining the waste twice a day.

According to Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration, Formosa has until Oct. 19 to handle the removal of the waste from Kaoshsiung Port.

Currently, the plastics giant is communicating with local residents in Jenwu, Kaohsiung County, to get approval to dump the waste at factory site there.

However, it was reported by Chinese-language media that a scheduled public hearing between Jenwu residents and Formosa Plastics would most likely fall through as few were willing to attend.