SBMA Official: Subic E-Waste Trade Highly Regulated, Not a Dumping Ground

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines — A senior official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) disputed claims by environmental groups that the Subic Bay Freeport Zone has become a dumping ground for electronic wastes illegally imported into the country. Amethya dela Llana, OIC Senior Deputy Administrator for the SBMA Regulatory Group, stressed that e-waste recycling in Subic is highly regulated and that recyclers strictly undergo compliance requirements based on international standards. “The environmental groups should visit the Subic and see for themselves the processes that recyclers go through—from admission of raw materials to liquidation. They are free to inspect the permits the SBMA Ecology Center and other national agencies require of the recyclers, and they are free to inquire about their compliance,” Dela Llana said on Saturday, June 27. “There is no dumping of toxic materials in Subic Bay. This can be easily proven,” she added. Dela Llana made the statement in reaction to the exposé by the newly-formed Environmental Task Force Against E-Waste Imports to the Philippines (End E-Waste Imports), which condemned the alleged illegal importation of e-waste from the United States into the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The task force is composed of the environment advocacy groups BAN Toxics, Basel Action Network (BAN), Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) 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, as well as the Kabataan Partylist. In a press briefing last Thursday, June 25, in Quezon City, the End E-Waste Imports task force presented what it described as “alarming” images of factories in Subic with e-waste left outdoors and exposed to the elements. BAN said it has tracked suspected e-waste using GPS devices and traced some of these to factories in Subic. BAN has reportedly flagged a total of 234 containers of suspected e-waste and one containing plastic waste since March last year and alerted both the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) about these. However, the BoC allegedly told BAN they cannot act against said shipments because of an April 2025 ruling by the Manila Regional Trial Court that upheld Subic as a separate customs territory. Dela Llana said the claims made by End E-Waste Imports were misleading, unduly placed Subic Freeport on trial by publicity, and undermined the integrity of SBMA’s regulatory regime. She pointed out that the 15 recycling firms in Subic play a vital role in the development of a circular economy that national agencies and international bodies espouse. She said that from e-waste collected from various sources, Subic recyclers extract minerals like copper, aluminum, iron, as well as silver and gold, and convert plastic wastes into pellets to be used as raw materials for other finished products. “All of these are re-exported out of Subic,” she added. Dela Llana said the recycling trade in Subic is highly regulated and offers a viable alternative to resource extraction, which could destroy the environment and pollute surrounding communities. She said the SBMA Ecology Center had already collected more than 88 metric tons of electronic and electrical equipment waste under its recyclables collection program started in 2017. Last April, the Subic agency formally launched its “Closing the Loop on E-Waste” program in partnership with accredited waste handlers and recycling firms to broaden efforts to manage e-waste in Subic, Dela Llana also said.