Penyebab kanser di eksport ke Malaysia
‘Developed countries must be responsible’:
Malaysia to send some non-recyclable plastic waste back to where it came from
21 May, 2019
·
Malaysia last year became the leading alternative destination
for plastic scrap after China banned imports of such waste
·
Most of the plastic scrap coming into the country is
contaminated and low-quality plastic from developed countries that is
non-recyclable
Malaysia , which has
become the dumping ground for the world’s plastic waste, will send back
non-recyclable plastic scrap to the developed countries that sent it there, its
environment minister said on Tuesday. Malaysia last year became the leading
alternative destination for plastic scrap after China banned
imports of such waste, disrupting the flow of more than 7
million tonnes of plastic scrap a year.
Dozens of recycling factories cropped up in Malaysia, many
without an operating licence, and residents complained of environmental damage.
Most of the plastic scrap coming into the country is
contaminated and low-quality plastic from developed countries that is
non-recyclable.
Now Malaysia has begun sending back the waste to its country of
origin, said Yeo Bee Yin, Malaysia’s minister of energy, technology, science,
climate change and environment.
“Developed countries must be responsible in what they send out,”
Yeo said.
She
said some of the plastic scrap sent to Malaysia was in violation of the Basel
Convention, a UN treaty on the trade of plastic waste and its disposal.
Malaysia has already
sent five containers of contaminated plastic waste that was smuggled into the
country back to its source, Spain, Yeo said.
The minister did not identify the smugglers but said an
investigation was ongoing.
More non-recyclable plastic will be sent back to its source next
week, she said.
Malaysia’s imports of plastic waste from its 10 biggest
source-countries jumped to 456,000 tonnes between January and July 2018, versus
316,600 tonnes bought in all of 2017 and 168,500 tonnes in 2016. More recent
data is not available.
The United States, Britain, Japan and Australia are among the
top exporters of plastic waste to Malaysia.
Plastic unsuitable for recycling is burnt, which releases toxic
chemicals into the atmosphere. Or it ends up in landfill, potentially contaminating
soil and water sources.
Around 180 countries reached a deal on Friday to amend the Basel
Convention to make global trade in plastic waste more transparent and better
regulated, while also ensuring that its management is safer for human health and
the environment.
The US, the world’s top exporter of plastic waste, has not
ratified the 30-year-old pact.
The amendments to the treaty will further limit the flow of
plastic scrap to developing countries, said Yeo, who added it was unfair of the
developed world to dump their waste on developing countries such as Malaysia.
“The amendment of the Basel Convention is the first step in
solving the global problem of unjust rubbish movement from developed to
developing countries,” the minister said.
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