Hayleys reiterates position on waste containers

The writ petition seeking a court order directing legal action to be taken against the parties liable for the waste containers was heard at the Court of Appeal yesterday  
During today’s hearing, Romesh De Silva PC addressing the court clarified the position of Hayleys Free Zone Limited (HFZL) and stated that in view of the fact that HFZL has never transported any cargo within Sri Lanka other than for the purposes of re-export and since the company had no intention to transport cargo other than for the purposes of re-export he had no objection to the interim being issued. 

In the course of submissions, De Silva further submitted to the court that HFZL does only a minor processing of the cargo and re-exports the separated components of the used mattresses to entities provided to them by the owner, for which the company only receives a processing fee. 

He also submitted that there is no evidence brought before the court which in any way or manner brings the application of the environmental law, in respect to the process performed 
by HFZL.

De Silva also submitted that he had informed the court of all of the above on the very first day the matter was heard in court.  In those circumstances, De Silva also stated that on notice being issued, HFZL will file a statement of objections, bringing to the attention of the court the role played by the company, and the fact that it had not violated any law nor caused any damage to the environment.  The counsel further stated that HFZL had already commenced the process of re-containerizing the cargo prior to this case being filed.