Dumping on our neighbours

Most mines use land-based alternatives to dumping in seas and rivers. But some members of the mining sector steadfastly refuse to adopt this as a viable option claiming it is too expensive. Too expensive for whom? For too long the industry has been able to get away with polluting as well as destroying vulnerable communities and their fragile environments.

There’s a glimmer of hope however. Some of the world’s largest mining companies, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, have made commitments not to dump toxic waste into rivers and oceans.

But they only made this commitment after mines they have been involved, namely Ok Tedi and Freeport, caused disastrous environmental and social damage as a result of dumping waste into rivers. The Australian mining industry and all APEC governments do have a role to play in cleaning up the sector’s atrocious environmental track record. And they can start by taking immediate action to ban the disastrous practice of using rivers and oceans as toxic mine waste dumping grounds.

Mining companies have the potential to contribute to local development and poverty alleviation. To do so they must take a firm stand against practices that cause environmental degradation, rob people of livelihoods and drive poverty. It is ethically and ecologically wrong to dump toxic mine waste into rivers and oceans. But it’s also bad for business. After all, who wants to buy shares in a company that’s responsible for widespread pollution and environmental degradation?