Malaysia sends back trash to rich countries

Malaysia has redirected 150 containers of plastic waste that did not have import permits, to 13 other countries.
43 of the containers were returned to France, 42 to the UK, 17 to the US, 11 to Canada, 10 to Spain and the rest to Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Portugal, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Lithuania. China, however, banned the import of plastic waste in 2018.
The country’s environment minister Yeo Bee Yin announced another 110 containers will also be sent back, and angrily added: “If people want to see us as the rubbish dump of the world, you dream on”.
“The government of Malaysia is taking stern action to combat the illegal movement of plastic waste into Malaysia by stopping the movement at the source, which is at the ports”, Yeo continued.
“To date, the government of Malaysia has repatriated 150 containers of illegal plastic waste with approximately 3,737 tonnes”, she said.
The ministry explained the plastic waste did not meet the criteria for importing plastic waste under the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
Next month, the country’s government will present an action plan on illegal plastic importation to coordinate its agencies in speeding up the process of returning the waste.