By Vito Barcelo | Jul. 31, 2015 at 12:01am For importing 48 container vans of Canadian waste, the owner of Live Green Enterprises, was charged with smuggling before the Department of Justice, according to the Bureau of Customs. Charged was Nelson Mario, owner and proprietor of LGE for the illegal importation of container vans loaded with baled municipal solid wastes from Canada that were declared as importable ‘plastic scraps’. Under the law, only homogeneous plastic scrap materials are allowable regulated imports but with necessary pre-shipment importation clearance (PSIC) from Environmental Management Bureau-Department of Environment and Natural Resources (MB-DENR). Only recently, the DOJ filed smuggling charges against Adelfa H. Eduardo, owner of Chronic Plastics; and the company’s customs brokers Leonora M. Flores, and Sherjun N. Saldon for importing toxic waste,. Mario, along with Eduardo, Flores and Saldon were facing Republic Act 6969 or the Act to Control Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes, Tariffs and Customs Code and falsification charges before the DOJ. The 48 shipments were discovered by the BOC last May a week after Customs chief Alberto Lina was installed, instructed all ports to submit an inventory list of all overstaying cargoes. Based on the import documents of the shipments, the exporter is a certain Demetrios Jim Makris of Chronic Inc. Canada, the same exporter of the 55 container vans of heterogeneous wastes discovered last year consigned to Chronic Plastics. This caused BOC to suspect the contents of the shipments which arrived December 6, 2013. The Chronic shipments arrived, on the other hand, arrived in six batches from June 10 to August, 2013 at the Manila International Container Port and were subsequently seized by Customs police and operatives of the Enforcement Group following report that the shipment contains toxic wastes Upon inspection, the shipments valued at P3.9-million turned out to be consisted of “heterogeneous” plastic materials, including household garbage and even adult diapers and not scrap materials as declared by the importers. “The importation made by Chronic of the declared ‘plastic scrap’… were made without acquiring a prior importation clearance (IC) from the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) at least thirty days preceding the actual importation,” the BOC said. “This is a wakeup call for all of us. It is very clear that these waste materials were shipped to the Philippines illegally. That is why we have filed the necessary case against Live Green Enterprises, to make sure that those responsible for importing these waste materials be punished in accordance with the law,” Lina said. “Aside from filing charges, we are making sure that the Customs accreditation of companies engaged in the importation of heterogeneous waste like Live Green Enterprise and Chronic Plastics is cancelled.” “We are mindful of the threat to public health and safety that these wastes could bring to our people that is why we are committed to continue working with the Philippine government to resolve this issue of mutual concern in a satisfactory manner,” Lina said. http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/07/31/smuggle-raps-on-canadian-waste-importer/