Malaysia to send back plastic waste to foreign nations
Source: Associated Press
Malaysia to send back plastic waste to foreign nations
May 28, 2019
PORT KLANG, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia will send back some 3,000 metric tons (3,300 tons) of non-recyclable plastic waste to countries such as the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia in a move to avoid becoming a dumping ground for rich nations, Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said Tuesday.
Yeo said Malaysia and many developing countries have become new targets after China banned the import of plastic waste last year.
Last week, the Philippines said it would ship back dozens of containers of garbage which Filipino officials were illegally shipped to the country from Canada in 2013 to 2014.
Yeo said 60 containers stacked with contaminated waste were smuggled in en route to illegal processing facilities in Malaysia and will be sent back to their countries of origin.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/e8d2ec2f262a45d0a61272536c82ef2c
Malaysia’s environment minister Yeo Bee Yin (L) shows a container of plastics waste shipment from Australia on May 28, 2019. (Adli Ghazali | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images)