After China bans plastic rubbish imports, SouthEast Asian countries become the next target for dumping ground.
Yoo Bee Yin, the Malaysian environment minister said Malaysia will send back some 3,000 metric tonnes of non-recyclable plastic waste to countries including the UK, US, Canada and Australia in a move to avoid becoming a dumping ground for rich nations. After China bans plastic rubbish imports, Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia has become the next target for dumping ground.
Yoo Bee Yin said 60 containers stacked with contaminated waste including cables from the UK, contaminated milk cartons from Australia and CDs from Bangladesh, as well as bundles of electronic and household waste from the US, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and China, were smuggled in en route to illegal processing facilities in the country and will be sent back to their countries of origin. She also showed the reporters the contents of the waste at a port outside Kuala Lumpur, out of which 10 containers are yet to be shipped back to the respective countries within 2 weeks.
“Malaysia will not be a dumping ground to the world, we will fight back. Even though we are a small country, we can’t be bullied by developed countries.” Ms. Yoo added.