Malaysia rejects US plastic trash in global backlash
A general view of the town which once served as a beacon for ships approaching Teluk Anson Port, in Teluk Intan in Malaysia's Perak state.
Malaysia will return a container of plastic trash en route from the United States as it violates new UN rules governing hazardous waste, the country’s Environment Ministry said on Wednesday, one of the first cases of the regulations being enforced.
Two years ago, more than 180 countries agreed to ban hard-to-recycle plastic waste trade in a bid to stop rich countries dumping trash in the developing world, where it often ends up polluting the local environment and the ocean.
The new rules, which come under the Basel Convention, a United Nations treaty that polices the trade in hazardous waste, came into force in January.
Signatory countries can now only trade plastic waste if it meets certain low-contamination criteria, which means it is clean, sorted and easy-to-recycle, or if the exporting country gets prior consent from the importing country.
Environment Ministry spokesperson Mohamad Khalil Zaiyany Sumiran said a shipment on its way from the US did not meet that criteria or have prior approval from Malaysia.
“After investigations, Malaysia will send back the container to the origin country,” he said, adding it was unclear when the shipment would arrive.
Environment Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had said in a statement on Saturday that authorities would bar the container, which was shipped from Los Angeles on March 14.
The US, which produces more plastic waste per capita than any other country, is the only major nation not to have ratified the Basel Convention and is not bound by its rules.
But, under the treaty, Malaysia cannot accept prohibited plastic waste from the US.
Malaysia, which became the leading destination for the world’s plastic trash after China banned imports in 2018, has returned thousands of tons of plastic scrap since then.
