Malaysia to return UK’s plastic waste

Asian countries refuse to act as dumping grounds for Western nations

Britain may have to take back hundreds of tons of plastic waste from Malaysia after the country’s environment minister said it would not be treated as the world’s dumping ground.

Yeo Bee Yin singled out the UK for criticism while threatening to return as much as 3,000 tons of low-quality plastic to at least 14 countries. She said that 60 containers of contaminated waste had been smuggled illegally into the country.

It follows an investigation in October revealing widespread illegal dumping in Malaysia of British plastic waste that should have been recycled.

The body representing recyclers in the UK said rogue operators should be “urgently weeded out”, adding that councils may soon have to burn lowgrade plastic because the foreign recycling market for it was shrinking. Ten containers, containing 450 tons, will be shipped back within two weeks, Yeo pledged. Five containers of contaminated plastic rubbish were already returned to Spain in April. Last year Malaysia became the world’s main destination for plastic waste after China banned imports, disrupting an annual flow of more than seven million tons. Like many Western countries, the UK, which is expected to miss EU targets to recycle 50% of household waste by 2020, has become reliant on exporting its waste there.

Yeo singled out the UK yesterday during an inspection of containers at Port Klang, the country’s largest port.

“Developed countries like the UK always prioritise recycling and its people follow, but they do not realise the waste is dumped in our country.”

A UK recycling company had exported as much as 50,000 tons of plastic waste to Malaysia in the past two years, she said, without identifying the firm. Yeo warned: “If you ship to Malaysia, we will return it without mercy.”

Last year China banned waste imports citing environmental concerns. Dozens of unregulated recycling factories suddenly cropped up in Malaysia, many operating without licences and contaminating the local environment. An investigation by The Telegraph and Unearthed, Greenpeace’s investigative unit, found British recycling and household waste, intended for reprocessing, discarded on open ground at sites close to Port Klang. Empty recycling bags from five UK local authorities were seen in a disused factory by one dump, raising fears that no proper processing had taken place. There was also contaminated waste from British high street stores, including carrier bags, bread wrappers and washing machine tablet containers.

Simon Allin, CEO of the Recycling Association, said the vast majority of UK recyclers acted within the law, but “unfortunately a few operating on the fringes are not compliant, and knowingly export materials that do not meet shipment criteria. They need to be urgently weeded out”.

There is a growing backlash in Asian nations at the receiving end of dumping by Western countries. Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, recalled his ambassador to Canada two weeks ago in a standoff over 69 containers of refuse abandoned by a private firm.

This month, about 180 countries agreed to amend the Basel Convention to make the global trade in plastic waste more transparent and better regulated. The US, the biggest exporter of plastic waste, has not ratified the 30-year-old pact.

If you ship to Malaysia, we will return it without mercy

Yeo Bee Yin