Govt to ban imports of non-recyclable solid waste, particularly plastic

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will ban imports of all non-recyclable solid waste, particularly plastic, says Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin.

She said the measures were taken to ensure that the country’s solid waste was well-managed and to reduce plastic pollution as well as ensuring Malaysia was not a dumping ground for waste from developed countries.

“Plastic waste are varied, some are homogenous, smooth and clean, which can be recycled, but there is mix plastic waste that cannot be recycled and usually used by illegal factory.

“The ministry will ensure that any solid waste that cannot be properly recycled and does not follow the Environmental Quality Act will be banned,” she said during the ministers’ question time session at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

She was replying to a question from Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PASRantau Panjang) who wanted to know if the government intended to impose total ban on imports of solid waste into the country.

Yeo said a joint ministerial committee, led by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, had been established to decide on measures to stop the import of plastic waste from foreign countries.

“Currently, all plastic waste import activities have been frozen, as well as the issuance of licences to establish plastic waste recycling factories has also been suspended,” she said.

Meanwhile during the oral question-and-answer session, Yeo said a standard for biodegradable plastic would be introduced by year end.

“The ministry is working with Standards Malaysia to develop a standard for the biodegradable and compostable plastic food packaging that will be launched at the end of the year. There will be an eco label as well where consumers can get the information if the plastic packaging is environmentally friendly or otherwise,” she said.

She said this when replying to a supplementary question from Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai) who wanted to know if the government had issued guidelines on types of plastic.

Later, in a press conference on the sidelines of the Dewan Rakyat sitting, Yeo said the ban of plastic waste import from four countries, namely, the United States, Japan, United Kingdom and Australia that recorded a total import of more than 400 million metric tonnes of plastic waste, had been implemented in June. — Bernama