An aerial image shows recycling facilities inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (Photo courtesy of Basel
Action Network)
GROUPS CALL ON PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT TO UPHOLD BASEL CONVENTION OBLIGATIONS AFTER CUSTOMS ACTION ON THREE SUSPECT CONTAINERS
July 31, 2026 — SEATTLE / MANILA — The Basel Action Network (BAN), together with members of the Philippine NGO Environmental Task Force Against Illegal E-Waste Imports to the Philippines (End E-Waste Imports), has issued a new Operation Can Opener alert identifying 184 shipping containers suspected of containing illegally imported electronic waste from the United States.
The containers are scheduled to arrive at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in the Philippines between August 6 and September 30, 2026.
The alert was sent on Wednesday, July 29, to Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno and Environmental Management Bureau Director Michael Drake Matias of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The warning follows a July 22 Bureau of Customs action involving three earlier containers flagged by BAN.
BOC Subic District Collector Geniefelle Lagmay ordered the three suspect containers to remain on board the vessel MV Tokyo Express, citing the Philippines’ obligations under the Basel Convention and Republic Act No. 6969 to take a precautionary approach.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on July 25, citing the BOC, that the containers had been declared in shipping documents as “scrap copper.”
According to vessel-tracking information reviewed by BAN, the containers did not remain in Subic and were moved onward the day after the BOC order.
“We commend the Bureau of Customs for promptly acting on the prior alert and preventing suspected illegal waste trafficking from the US to the Philippines,” said Jam Lorenzo, deputy executive director of BAN Toxics, one of the convenors of the task force.
“But that was three containers. BAN has now identified 184 more suspected containers, and the government must respond with the same urgency and resolve.”
An aerial image shows recycling facilities inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Photo courtesy of the Basel Action Network.
BAN and members of End E-Waste Imports, which include BAN Toxics, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Greenpeace Philippines, and other civil society groups, are calling on the Philippine government to intercept, inspect, and prevent any confirmed illegal e-waste shipments from entering the country.
The groups also emphasized the need for enforcement measures to prevent rejected shipments from simply being rerouted to another developing country.
To properly enforce the Basel Convention, the groups said Philippine authorities should detain and inspect the suspect containers to determine whether they contain Basel-controlled electronic waste.
If the containers are confirmed to contain e-waste from the US, BAN and its task force partners maintain that the shipments would be considered illegal traffic under Articles 4(5) and 9 of the Basel Convention.
Following the E-Waste Amendments that took effect in January 2025, nearly all e-waste, whether hazardous or not, is now controlled under the convention.
The groups outlined this position in a July 15 civil society position paper submitted to the DENR, BOC, and other government agencies following a July 6 interagency meeting.
Under Article 4(5) of the convention, parties such as the Philippines may not permit the import of Basel-controlled waste from a non-party, such as the US, without a valid Article 11 agreement.
Such an agreement may allow the trade, but it must provide a level of environmental protection equivalent to that required under the Basel Convention.
The US Environmental Protection Agency and the US State Department confirmed to BAN that no such agreement exists to allow e-waste exports from the US to the Philippines.
The END E-Waste Imports task force joined protests during the fifth State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 27, 2026.
Photo courtesy of END E-Waste Imports
For containers confirmed to contain illegal electronic waste, the groups urged the Philippine government to use an existing bilateral agreement signed in 2001 covering hazardous waste shipments from the Philippines to the United States.
The groups said using the agreement would require US authorities to ensure that the waste is not re-exported by the original exporters.
“Sending these shipments back informally, container by container, is not enough. Because the US is not a Party to the Basel Convention, too often, the same waste can be simply rerouted to another unsuspecting country,” said Jim Puckett, founder and chief of strategic direction of the Basel Action Network.
“The existing bilateral arrangement that covers only exports from the Philippines gives the country a lawful path to ensure illegal e-waste is taken back by the US to be responsibly managed and recycled there—what should have been done in the first place.”
The task force also urged authorities to prevent the creation of any new bilateral agreement between the US and the Philippines that would legalize e-waste exports from the US.
The groups warned that US lobbyists may be pushing for such an agreement.
They also raised concerns over the planned US-led Pax Silica Initiative, which is expected to establish an artificial intelligence industrial hub in the Philippines, with critical minerals processing among its core areas.
The groups warned that the initiative could lead to an influx of e-waste from the US into the Philippines under the framework of critical minerals recovery or “urban mining.”
ABOUT THE BASEL ACTION NETWORK
Founded in 1997, the Basel Action Network is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization based in Seattle, Washington.
BAN focuses on addressing the environmental injustice and economic inefficiency associated with the global trade in toxic waste and its harmful effects.
The organization serves as an information clearinghouse on waste trade for journalists, academics, and the public.
Through its investigations, BAN has documented the dumping of hazardous electronic and toxic waste in developing countries.
ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE AGAINST ILLEGAL E-WASTE IMPORTS TO THE PHILIPPINES
The Environmental Task Force Against Illegal E-Waste Imports to the Philippines, also known as END E-Waste Imports, was launched on June 25, 2026.
The group aims to raise awareness about illegal e-waste imports, mobilize community action, and stop illegal electronic waste shipments from entering the Philippines.
The task force is composed of several environmental and civil society organizations, including:
• BAN Toxics
• Basel Action Network
• Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives Asia Pacific
• Break Free From Plastic Asia Pacific
• Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment
• Greenpeace Philippines
• EcoWaste Coalition
• Center for Environmental Concerns–Philippines
• Pangasinan People’s Strike for the Environment
• Central Luzon Environmental Action Network
• Kabataan Party-list
For more information, visit:
MEDIA CONTACTS
Jam Lorenzo
Deputy Executive Director
BAN Toxics, Philippines
Email: jlorenzo@bantoxics.org
Thony Dizon
Advocacy Officer
BAN Toxics, Philippines
Mobile: 0917 832 2616
Email: tdizon@bantoxics.org
Jim Puckett
Founder and Chief of Strategic Direction
Basel Action Network, United States
Email: jpuckett@ban.org