ISSN: 3107-4154 (O)
Volume II, Issue 1 (2026)
Waste Colonialism In The Indian Ocean:
A Comparative Legal Study Of Transboundary Movement Of Maritime Waste
Author – Khushi Lathwal, Student of Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University
Month, Year of Publication – January, 2026
Abstract
In a striking illustration, in 1988, the small fishing village of Koko in Nigeria became infamous as “drums of death” when Italian businessmen dumped thousands of containers of toxic waste disguised as fertilizer, poisoning residents and forcing hundreds to flee. Less than two decades later, in 2006, the Probo Koala, a Panama-registered tanker chartered by Trafigura, released 500 cubic meters of hazardous sludge in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, killing 17 and sickening thousands. These catastrophes are not isolated incidents; rather, they are a part of a broader trend known as ‘waste colonialism’, where developed nations externalize ‘toxic burdens’ onto developing states. Despite the Basel Convention, regulatory disparities and enforcement gaps are shown by the judicial reactions in Bangladesh and India. The Indian courts adopt a pragmatic, incrementalist approach, whereas the judiciary in Bangladesh employs rights-based interventions. The most prominent and lethal example of waste colonialism in the context is shipbreaking, which reiterates the boundaries of international environmental law and sustains systemic injustices in the global maritime industry.
The transforming dynamics of waste colonization are examined in this paper. The Indian Ocean, which was formerly a conduit for colonial trade, currently serves as a passage for transboundary garbage flows that mimic past exploitative patterns. Through the theoretical framework of Max Liboiron’s Pollution Is Colonialism, it scrutinizes the manifestation of the colonial-era waste trade. According to the study, pollution induces Southern regions into ‘sacrifice zones’ and is a manifestation of colonial entitlement. Additionally, the present research contrasts and assesses the regulatory structures that govern transboundary marine waste in Bangladesh and India, incorporating crucial statutes, judicial rulings, and international agreements. This study uses a qualitative, conceptual, and analogous legal method to ascertain how the judicial procedures of Bangladesh and India to cross-border maritime waste symbolize the ongoing waste colonialism within the Indian Ocean. The research, which is based on Max Liboiron’s ‘pollution as colonialism’ thesis, portrays waste and pollution flows as extensions of imperial entitlement to land and sea, wherein legal frameworks frequently perpetuate inequalities of disposability and extraction. In order to investigate how international waste trade regulations and practices perpetuate colonial power relations beyond legal compliance, this study combines postcolonial and critical theory with doctrinal legal analysis.
keywords
maritime waste, waste colonialism, shipbreaking, ship recycling, environment
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Cite as
Lathwal, K. “Waste Colonialism In The Indian Ocean: A Comparative Legal Study Of Transboundary Movement Of Maritime Waste” International Journal of Legal Policy, Vol.2(1) 60-87 (2026).
