RILO AP organized the debriefing seminar for Operation Green Earth from 30 to 31 July 2019 in Seoul, Korea. 11 customs administrations from Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong China, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and UNEP participated in this event.

The Joint Operation Green Earth was initiated by Korea Customs and China Customs in coordination with RILO AP to suppress the illicit trans-boundary movement of hazardous and other waste through all modes of transportation. And the intensive operational phase commenced on 25th March 2019 and lasted for a period of 8 weeks with 17 participating administrations (Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Honk Kong China, India, Japan, Korea, Macau China, Maldives, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam). The participating administrations reported a total of 104 seizures cases during the operation (Korea: 30; China: 21; Hong Kong China: 21; Sri Lanka: 13; Thailand: 10; Malaysia: 5; Vietnam: 4). 81 cases were intercepted at entry point, 19 cases at exit points and 4 cases in transit and by the means of transport, vessels were the major conveyances (96 cases). Plastic waste represented the majority in cases (45 cases) and quantities (more than 68,000 tons), followed by e-waste, municipal waste, slag and metal waste, paper waste, rubber waste and other waste. 6 information of illegally shipped waste was shared between Participating member administrations and relevant member administrations. It aimed to prevent exporters and importers from repeating illegal waste trades and to support the repatriations of illegally imported waste.

Recently, numerous member administrations and international organizations still have endeavored to suppress the illegal trade of waste. During the meeting, considering the constant request for enforcement coordination and practical operation for sufficient time, participants also discussed on a long-term platform (Intelligence Project WINS; Waste Information Notification System) which will be launched by RILO AP to facilitate the information sharing of illegally shipped waste among customs administrations in Asia and the Pacific region. RILO AP will continue the discussion on the project with member administrations and it will be conducted for 1 year since later this year.