Britain to take back 42 containers of plastic waste illegally exported to Malaysia

Following a push by Asian nations, Britain has decided to take back a total of 42 containers of plastic waste which was earlier illegally exported to Malaysia. The situation in Malaysia has been termed as 'world's trash dump' as several countries have opted for it as an illegal dump yard. Not just Malaysia, but the entire stretch of Southeast Asia has been flooded with plastic from more developed nations such as the US and Australia. The situation arose as China which holds the most massive recycling industry has ordered a halt to imports since 2018. 

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Plastic waste transferred to Southeast Asia as China stopped recycling

After the ban, Chinese recycling businesses moved from China to Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia. This led to a struggle to return a large number of shipping containers full of waste brought in from abroad. Britain's decision comes after environment officials from the UK visited Malaysia to inspect the situation there. Their reports led Britain to finally take back containers sent to a major port in northern Penang state since last year without the necessary import papers.

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British and Malaysian officials commend the move

The decision was commended by Malaysian Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin. He said that this move signifies the cooperation and recognition of plastic pollution as a global issue. Worldwide commitment is required to address the problem, she added. Speaking on the same, British High Commissioner Charles Hay said that the return of the containers showed the UK's commitment to fighting the illegal plastic waste trade.

A Malaysian High Commission spokesman said that officials hope to take back all the containers by the end of 2019. Southeast Asian countries have been sending back unwanted waste to the parent countries in recent months. Indonesia has returned hundreds of containers to their countries of origin, while the Philippines returned a huge shipment of garbage to Canada. 

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Plastic menace in Southeast Asia

A new assessment by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has found limited packaging-related policies and weak enforcement are aggravating the issue of plastic pollution in Southeast Asia. About 10 countries in Southeast Asia – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam were studied by the UN. Reports revealed that more than half of the land-based plastic pollution in the world’s oceans originates from just five countries, four of which are in Southeast Asia- Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam – along with China, the top single polluter.

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(With inputs from agencies)