Trade in Plastic Waste is Coming to A Halt, in Part
May 28, 2019--Amid a decline in trade of plastic waste, Malaysia announced it would return 3,000 tons of plastic trash to exporting countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States and Saudi Arabia.
"Malaysia won’t continue to be a dumping ground for the developed nations and those responsible for destroying our ecosystem with these illegal activities are traitors," Malaysia Environmental Minister Yeo Bee Yin, told reporters on Tuesday, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. "We will fight back. Even though we are a small country, we will not be bullied."
The problem, the Malaysian ministry said, is that countries are shipping low-quality plastics that cannot be recycled -- a move that is against the country's laws.
“Garbage is traded under t...