South Korean media: Malaysia blocks U.S. plastic waste from entering!
On July 29, the South Korean media "Gyeongyang Shinmun" published an article stating that Malaysia has completely banned the import of plastic waste from the United States. According to local media reports, the Malaysian government recently amended the tariff law and implemented measures starting not long ago, prohibiting the import of plastic waste from the United States, which has not joined the Basel Convention. The Basel Convention is an international convention that strictly limits the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes, and the United States is one of the few countries that have not joined this convention.
This measure was due to the discovery by developed countries such as the United States of a large amount of harmful plastics and electronic waste falsely declared as raw materials. Last year, the Malaysian Ministry of Environment seized about 100 dangerous wastes disguised as "raw materials" imported from Los Angeles, the United States. In response, the Malaysian Minister of Environment expressed strong dissatisfaction, saying, "We do not want Malaysia to become the world's trash can."
After China fully stopped importing waste plastics in 2018, Malaysia became the main importer of plastic waste from Western countries such as the United States. In fact, the estimated amount of plastic waste exported from the United States to Malaysia last year exceeded 3,000 tons. Due to this measure, the waste inventory in Malaysian ports and stockpiles has been increasing, and the actual import of waste plastics from the United States has been stopped.
The Malaysian government announced that it will strictly prevent the import of waste that does not meet the standards of the Basel Convention.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838970305315851/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.