Malaysia bans US plastic trash as NGOs demand stricter enforcement
An amended law went into force in the Southeast Asian nation last week, effectively banning imports of plastic waste unless approval is given by the country's standards watchdog.
One key change is that approval will only be given for waste imported from countries that have ratified the Basel Convention, set up in 1989 to reduce the cross-border movement of hazardous waste, particularly between developed and non-developed nations.
That effectively bars imports from the United States, the fifth biggest supplier of plastic waste to Malaysia.
Malaysia is one of the world's biggest importers of plastic waste, accounting for over 433,000 metric tonnes worth US$167 million in 2024, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said – enough to fill around 173 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The plastic is recycled into pellets which are then exported – mainly to China – for use in production of various items including carpets.
Southeast Asia has been flooded with plastic waste from more developed economies such as the United States and Britain since 2018, especially since China – which previously boasted a massive recycling industry – ordered a halt to most imports.
Many Chinese recycling businesses moved to Malaysia after the ban took effect, leading to huge quantities of plastic being shipped in without permits.
"We welcome the stricter control... (but) we are concerned as there are some key enforcement gaps that have to be addressed," Friends of the Earth Malaysia president Meenakshi Raman told AFP Monday.
Gaps included illegal imports, with smugglers concealing consignments to bypass regulations Meenakshi said, exacerbated by "bribery and collusion among enforcement officers" allowing illicit shipments to slip through customs.
The tightened law effectively bans the United States from any further shipments as Washington has not ratified the UN treaty.
The US accounted for over 35,000 tonnes of plastic waste to Malaysia last year, according to data from the Basel Action Network, behind signatories Japan, Spain, Germany and Britain.
Environmental watchdogs said Malaysian plastic recyclers preferred overseas imports because domestic waste did not meet demand.
"Plastic recyclers also mention that domestic waste is 'dirtier', hence they source imported plastic waste that is cleaner," Meenakshi said.
Both Friends of the Earth's Meenakshi and Greenpeace Malaysia Zero Waste Campaigner Weng Dun Xin called on the US and other developed nations to stop using poorer nations to dump their trash.
"Recycling alone cannot fix our global plastic pollution problem fast enough," said Weng.
"Developed countries should stop putting their responsibility onto other countries for their own plastics problem."
After passing the law, Malaysian authorities said they would "not hesitate to act firmly against any individual or company that attempts to circumvent waste import controls or engage in illicit waste import activities." --AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Malaysia stresses global health and climate equity at BRICS summit
RIO DE JANEIRO: Malaysia believes that vaccine access, strong public health systems, and the regulation of global medical supply chains are central to both national stability and international security. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stressed that when governments divert limited resources from essential services such as healthcare and clean water to service historical debts, financial systems designed to foster development instead hinder progress. "Let us begin with a hard truth. In too much of the world, life expectancy remains shaped not by biology, but by income. "The fact that a child's chance of surviving past the age of five is still largely determined by GDP per capita represents a failure for us all," he said during his intervention at the "Environment, COP30 and Global Health" session of the 17th BRICS Leaders Summit here today. Malaysia, he said, welcomes the launch of the BRICS Partnership for the Elimination of Socially Determined Diseases. "It reflects a clear understanding that disease cannot be meaningfully addressed without tackling the conditions that entrench it," said Anwar. The Prime Minister voiced Malaysia's support for deeper collaboration between BRICS and Asean to strengthen surveillance, accelerate knowledge transfer, and build resilience across borders. He also reaffirmed Malaysia's commitment to a credible and just low-carbon transition, highlighting the country's pledge to reduce emissions intensity by 45 per cent by 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. "These targets are grounded in law and embedded across public policy," he said, noting that Malaysia's approach is anchored in the National Energy Transition Roadmap and supported by efforts to introduce a carbon pricing mechanism and regulatory reforms across key sectors. Anwar said that Malaysia is also assessing the role of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) in decarbonising industry, with policy frameworks currently being developed. However, he stressed that policy alone is not enough - transition requires capital. "At present, international climate finance stands at roughly US$300 billion per year. This is far short of the estimated US$3 trillion required by developing countries alone to meet mitigation and adaptation needs by 2030," he said. As this year's Asean chair, Anwar said Malaysia is working to strengthen regional coherence on climate action. He said the nation is focused on improving access to green finance, harmonising standards, and positioning Southeast Asia as a centre for clean energy innovation and sustainable investment. Ahead of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, this November, Anwar called for a shift "from aspiration to execution". "Climate justice is ultimately about allocation: of capital, of risk, and of responsibility," he said. The Prime Minister said Malaysia views health, climate, and finance as inseparable, warning that a degraded environment weakens health systems while an underfunded health system undermines resilience. "And both suffer when sovereign debt restricts national policy space," he added. Anwar arrived here on Saturday to attend the 17th BRICS Leaders' Summit hosted by Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Barnama
an hour ago
- Barnama
Malaysia Committed To Strengthening Economic Co-operation With Brics -- Tengku Zafrul
KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is committed to strengthening co-operation in economics, trade and investment with BRICS countries, especially with the great potential of artificial intelligence (AI) which needs to be harnessed for inclusive development. 'With ASEAN's digital economy expected to reach US$2 trillion (US$1=RM4.231) by 2030, this is a golden opportunity that we cannot afford to waste,' said Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz in a post on X today. Tengku Zafrul said the side meetings with BRICS partner countries and business leaders opened up space for Malaysian companies to explore markets and investment opportunities in future-oriented sectors.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Phantom cows and missing millions
SANDRA Palleiro is on the hunt for her lost cows. The 60-year-old accountant stands in a muddy field at the end of a farm track in Artigas, in Uruguay's remote border region with Brazil. She has travelled 600km from the capital, Montevideo, to find 61 cattle she owns – at least on paper. The missing bovines were part of a 'cow bond' scheme that has collapsed, triggering one of Uruguay's biggest-ever financial scandals. The co-owner of one firm involved has died by suicide. Three companies have gone bust and are under investigation for fraud. 'Hello moo-moo! Could one of you be mine?' Palleiro calls out hopefully into a paddock, her jeans caked in mud as she approaches a wire fence to get a closer look. Like hundreds of other investors, she is unable to locate her animals or prove they exist, making them part of a herd of 'phantom cows' that may number more than 700,000. So far, losses total around US$350mil, shaking Uruguay – a nation of just 3.4 million people but home to 12 million cows. The scandal has also sent ripples across Argentina and Brazil, where similar livestock investment schemes operate and Uruguay's cattle-tracking system had long been viewed as a model. In March 2024, Palleiro put over US$50,000 of her life savings into a livestock investment scheme run by Conexion Ganadera. She was drawn by the promise of 7-10% fixed returns and glossy brochures featuring bucolic images of Hereford cattle. Investors could either own specific cows to be reared and sold for profit, or take a stake in the broader scheme. The appeal? A tangible asset she could track via a state-backed online portal, listing breed, age and location. Each cow was to be branded with a government- assigned symbol, and her investment documents bore the agriculture ministry's crest. But when she travelled to Artigas, papers in hand, to match the 53 cattle tracking numbers linked to this ranch, she found the reality didn't match the registry. 'It feels like falling into a nightmare,' she said. A drone view shows cattle on a farm in Artigas. Tesla crash that exposed the herd Three firms now under investigation – Conexion Ganadera, Republica Ganadera, and Grupo Larrarte – convinced nearly 6,000 people or investor pools to join their schemes. Many such ventures across South America are legitimate, but this one began to unravel spectacularly. The scandal's first public sign came on Nov 28 last year when a Tesla Model 3 crashed at 211kph in the city of Florida. At the wheel was Gustavo Basso, a co-owner of Conexion Ganadera. Weeks after his death – ruled a suicide by the coroner – investors reported missed payments. By January, the company admitted it was short of nearly US$250mil. The firms blamed cash flow issues on adverse weather and market conditions, including a 2022-23 drought. But by late January, panic set in as investors scrambled to recover savings and filed fraud suits, leading to bankruptcy proceedings and an investigation by Uruguay's Prosecutor's Office for Money Laundering Crimes. Pablo Carrasco of Conexion Ganadera denies the allegations. His legal team has declined to comment before court testimony. Grupo Larrarte's lawyer says the company is cooperating. Republica Ganadera has not responded to media queries. Fake cows, real losses Among the thousands of victims are politicians, priests and pensioners. An inventory by Conexion Ganadera's bankruptcy trustee found just 70,000-80,000 of the 804,604 cattle the company claimed to manage. In another case, the agriculture ministry revealed that Pasfer, a key cattle-holding firm, had only 49 of 3,740 cows pledged as loan collateral. 'We don't know if the cows were ever bought, whether they're alive or dead,' said Palleiro. 'Maybe the cows were fakes, or sold, moved somewhere, or their tags were changed.' Victims are questioning how such a massive failure went undetected within the much-lauded cattle registry. Three lawyers allege that firms either never tagged animals or redirected investment funds elsewhere. Others claim cattle were sold without investors' consent. Each company handled its own tagging and registry inputs, with little oversight. 'The registry reflects what the company provided. The problem is that there was no control,' said lawyer Nicolas Hornes, representing 98 victims. He visited several farms and found discrepancies between tagged cattle and registry entries. Other investors shared similar experiences. The livestock ministry has not clarified whether the registry system failed. Arrests and investigations Grupo Larrarte was the first firm to face formal complaints. One of its executives, Jairo Larrarte, is now in preventive detention on charges of fraud, misappropriation and issuing bad cheques. His lawyer claims Larrarte has cooperated and returned some cattle to investors. Republica Ganadera filed for bankruptcy in November, but the court rejected the move due to an ongoing investigation. Talks with creditors are ongoing. In March, the company said it was seeking the best possible outcome for investors. Several investigations into Conexion Ganadera continue. Carrasco, his wife Ana Iewdiukow, and Basso's widow, Daniela Cabral, are being investigated for fraud and embezzlement. A court barred them from leaving Uruguay in February, and their passports were confiscated. 'Snake charmer' and vanished fortunes Basso, whose fatal crash was the scandal's turning point, had long lived in luxury in Florida, a town of 30,000 surrounded by farmland. Local radio host Martin Fablet, a decade-long investor in Conexion Ganadera, remembered Basso vividly. 'He was a snake charmer,' Fablet said. 'He could never simply lose US$250mil... That money must be somewhere.' Back in Artigas, drone footage over the ranch shows around 80 cows – far fewer than the hundreds Palleiro and fellow investors believed were theirs. Workers mentioned salary delays and said more cows might be in distant fields, but no one could confirm which animals belonged to whom. Palleiro is furious at the impact the scandal is having on ordinary Uruguayans. She once juggled three jobs to build her retirement savings. 'We put in all our savings that cost us a lot of effort,' she said, her voice breaking. 'Now we want justice.' — Reuters
