COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has sent back the last of 263 shipping containers of waste from Britain, an official said Tuesday, as developing nations look to block the import of refuse and other environmentally hazardous items from wealthier countries.

Customs officials in the South Asian country identified the large shipment of waste two years ago, including mattresses, carpets and springs, which the local importers claimed were for recycling.

Deputy environmental chief Ajith Weerasundara said the last 45 containers were sent out of the country on Monday.

Sri Lanka is party to the Basel Convention which controls transboundary movements of hazardous waste and their disposal, especially in developing nations.

Weerasundara said authorities will stay vigilant to prevent disposal of waste in the country.

Many countries in Southeast Asia have been resisting trash exports from developed nations in recent years. In 2020 Malaysia repatriated 150 containers of waste mainly to developed countries after they had been rerouted there following a Chinese ban on plastic waste.