Albania Starts to Waver on Waste Import Ban

The Alliance Against Waste Imports, AKIP, has called on the centre-left government of Edi Rama not to water down a law adopted last September banning all waste imports.

“Any discussion of annulling the law that bans waste imports, only a few months after it entered in force, contradicts the will of the Albanian people, who collected over 60,000 signatures for a referendum and voted in force [for the Socialist Party]… which promised 100 times to ban trash,” AKIP said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Any attempt by the government or by cabinet members to allow the import of waste will be rejected by AKIP and by all Albanians that think alike,” it added.

Rama's government slapped a complete ban on waste imports on its first cabinet meeting in September, fulfilling an electoral promise made during the June 23, 2013 elections.

However, in an interview on Monday for News 24 TV, the environment minister, Lefter Koka, declared that the ban might be amended once the government set in place a mechanism to monitor imports.

“Many businesses have invested in the treatment of a number of waste,” minister Koka noted.

The decision to impose the ban had been taken while the present ruling parties were in opposition, he added, but now they were in power, they were positive that they could monitor the flow of waste, to stop any dangerous materials.

Contacted by Balkan Insight, a government spokesperson did return a request for comment on the the apparent change of heart.

Activists have warned that will re-start mass protests if any decision to overturn the ban is made, and they called on the government to clarify its position following the minister’s statement.