Albania’s Customs Directorate has refuted claims that waste shipments involved in an international toxic waste scandal originated from Albania, clarifying that the shipments were part of a transit arrangement from Kosovo.

Earlier in August the Basel Action Network (BAN), an NGO that campaigns against toxic waste exports, reported that 816 tonnes of hazardous furnace waste were bound from Albania to Thailand on board two Maersk container ships. BAN said the ships were believed to be carrying toxic steel furnace dust collected from pollution control filters.

Reportedly, they were intended for delivery to Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri province, Thailand. However, the Thai authorities blocked the shipment after being alerted by BAN.

Responding to accusations circulated in the media, the Customs Directorate stated on its Facebook page on August 21: “Based on the disinformation that has been spreading for days in the media and is being used for political reasons and to smear the work of the Albanian Customs Administration, we clarify the following: The case cited by the media is not an export from Albania but an international transit of the zinc concentrate product from Kosovo.”

According to the directorate, the waste in question consists of zinc concentrate originating from Kosovo, which was sent by the company Apelbaum shpk, located in Pristina, Kosovo. The destination company for the waste is ACHRO AG, a Swiss-based firm located in Steinhausen. The Swiss company had ordered the zinc concentrate for further transport to Guangxi Logistics Industry International Trade Co. Ltd in Nanning, China.

“It is not a product originating from the Republic of Albania; it is not an export from Albania but an international transit between a company from Kosovo and a Swiss company without the involvement of any company from Albania,” the statement said.

The Customs Directorate added that it is cooperating closely with European and international bodies in the investigation. “ADSH, as in previous cases but also in this case, is exchanging intensive information as well as cooperating closely in joint investigation with OLAF (EU Anti-Fraud Office) as well as other law-enforcement bodies,” the directorate declared.

The controversy emerged earlier this month when BAN sounded the alarm, raising concerns that if no action was taken, the toxic filter dust could have been spread on agricultural land or otherwise dumped in Thailand.

In a statement, BAN warned that “the transport of hazardous wastes without the approval of the exporting country (Albania), the transit countries (such as South Africa), and the scheduled importing country (Thailand) is illegal waste trafficking under the terms of the Basel Convention.”

An investigation has now been launched in Albania, as initially reported by Bloomberg. Prosecutors in the port city of Durres confirmed on August 22 that they have launched "intensive investigations" in cooperation with the European Office against Economic Fraud (OLAF) and international law enforcement partners. 

The claims have also drawn the attention of Thai environmental activists. Penchom Saetang, director of the Thai environmental group EARTH, urged the Thai government to block the shipments, stating: “Under no circumstances will Thailand accept being the dumping ground for the rest of the world's toxic industrial waste, electronic wastes, or plastic wastes.” Saetang further called on the government “to take the necessary actions to stop this offensive trade dead in its tracks.”