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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
The US sends lots of plastic trash overseas. Malaysia just said no thanks
In the shadow of President Donald Trump's tariff fights, a different kind of trade war is playing out involving candy wrappers and plastic bottles. On Tuesday, Malaysia , which received more discarded plastic from rich nations than any other developing country last year, effectively banned all shipments of plastic waste from the United States. That might not seem like a big deal. But the United States has increasingly relied on countries like Malaysia to deal with plastic trash. American scrap brokers sent more than 35,000 tons of plastic waste to Malaysia last year, according to trade data analyzed by the Basel Action Network, a nonprofit group that tracks plastic waste issues. Last year, after seizing more than 100 shipping containers of hazardous materials sent from Los Angeles that had been improperly labeled as raw materials, the Malaysian environment minister, Nik Nazmi, told reporters that "we do not want Malaysia to be the world's rubbish bin." The country's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Join new Free to Play WWII MMO War Thunder War Thunder Play Now Undo Turmoil in the little-known trade in plastic waste has its roots in a decision by China in 2018, for the same reasons as Malaysia, to ban imports of wastepaper and plastic. Before that, China had for years accepted as much as half of the globe's discarded plastic and paper. Western nations have since struggled with a buildup of plastic trash. The United States recycles less than 10% of the plastic it discards. (Food and other contamination in plastic waste hinders recycling, and a significant portion of plastic, like chip bags that contain layers of different plastics and other materials, simply can't be recycled economically.) Live Events The rest ends up in landfills, is burned or is shipped overseas. And while new overseas destinations have emerged, a growing number of countries are starting to say no to trash. This year, Thailand and Indonesia also announced bans on plastic waste imports. The world produces nearly 500 million tons of plastic each year, more than double the amount from two decades ago, and a growing amount of plastic waste is turning up on coastlines and riverbanks, as well as in whales, birds and other animals that ingest them. Researchers have estimated that one garbage truck's worth of plastic enters the ocean every minute. China's ban "sent shock waves through the global plastic waste trade," said Tony R. Walker, a professor at the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who researches the global flow of plastic waste. The countries that started to accept that discarded plastic "quickly became overwhelmed," he said. Much of that plastic trash ends up dumped in landfills or is burned, which releases harmful air pollution, or is simply released into the environment. People in rich countries may assume the plastic they diligently separate is being recycled, he said, something he termed "wish cycling." However, instead of going into a recycling stream, "a lot of it gets redirected to waste," he said. Malaysia's amended Customs Act bans all plastic waste shipments from countries that have not signed the Basel Convention , a global agreement that regulates hazardous waste, including plastic. That puts the United States, the only major country that is not a party to the agreement, in a particularly tricky spot. The amended law also sets stringent restrictions on plastic waste imports from other countries, saying they must contain only one type of plastic, with at most 2% contamination, to ensure that the imported plastics are recycled and not discarded. That level would be challenging to meet for any plastic waste collected from consumers. In an email to clients sent June 20 and shared with The New York Times, Steve Wong, CEO of global plastic waste broker Fukutomi, said shipments of scrap plastic to Malaysia had already "come to a virtual standstill." Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastic Makers, an industry group, said the effects of Malaysia's import policy on plastic waste remained unclear. Nevertheless, "our industry remains focused on scaling up the use of recycled plastics in new products," he said. "These efforts support American jobs and drive economic growth, while conserving our natural resources and helping to prevent plastic pollution." Malaysia's ban on plastic waste imports from the United States was prompted by the discovery of hundreds of containers filled with hazardous electronic and plastic waste that had been falsely declared as raw materials in order to bypass the country's trade control laws, said Wong Pui Yi, a researcher at the Basel Action Network. But local industry associations have urged the government to lift the ban on clean, recyclable plastic imports, arguing that the imports are necessary to help manufacturers meet their recycled-content targets. Brands like Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have committed to using more recycled material in their products, said C.C. Cheah, the president of Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association , and the Malaysian recycling industry could still play a role. Kate O'Neill, a professor of environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley, said Malaysia's ban could mean that plastic waste starts flowing to other countries that are less able to handle the waste. Monitoring will be important, she said. "The recycling industry still hasn't caught up with the disruption, so these exports are still needed." That's why experts increasingly say that, on top of investing in recycling infrastructure, policies are needed to help rein in plastic production itself, for example by curbing demand for single-use plastics. Some countries negotiating a new treaty aimed at curbing plastic pollution have also called for caps on plastic production. That could come from packaging designs that cut down on plastic use, measures like plastic bag bans and overall policies that make manufacturers more responsible for the waste their products generate. Those policies have been spreading across the United States as well as globally. On Tuesday, a law went into effect in Illinois that prohibits large hotels from providing small, single-use plastic bottles for toiletries like shampoo and conditioner. (Smaller hotels have until 2026 to comply.) Also on Tuesday, Delaware began prohibiting restaurants from providing foam food containers, plastic beverage stirrers and plastic cocktail and sandwich picks, and requires that single-use plastic straws are only given out at the customer's request.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
The US sends lots of plastic trash overseas. Malaysia just said no thanks
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox American scrap brokers sent more than 35,000 tonnes of plastic waste to Malaysia in 2024. KUALA LUMPUR - In the shadow of US President Donald Trump's tariff fights, a different kind of trade war is playing out involving candy wrappers and plastic bottles. On July 1, Malaysia, which received more discarded plastic from rich nations than any other developing country in 2024, effectively banned all shipments of plastic waste from the United States. That might not seem like a big deal. But the United States has increasingly relied on countries like Malaysia to deal with plastic trash. American scrap brokers sent more than 35,000 tonnes of plastic waste to Malaysia in 2024, according to trade data analysed by the Basel Action Network, a non-profit group that tracks plastic waste issues. In 2024, after seizing more than 100 shipping containers of hazardous materials sent from Los Angeles that had been improperly labeled as raw materials, Malaysian environment minister Nik Nazmi told reporters that 'we do not want Malaysia to be the world's rubbish bin'. The country's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry did not respond to a request for comment July 1. Turmoil in the little-known trade in plastic waste has its roots in a decision by China in 2018, for the same reasons as Malaysia, to ban imports of wastepaper and plastic. Before that, China had for years accepted as much as half of the globe's discarded plastic and paper. Western nations have since struggled with a buildup of plastic trash. The United States recycles less than 10 per cent of the plastic it discards. Food and other contamination in plastic waste hinders recycling, and a significant portion of plastic, like chip bags that contain layers of different plastics and other materials, simply can't be recycled economically. The rest ends up in landfills, is burned or is shipped overseas. And while new overseas destinations have emerged, a growing number of countries are starting to say no to trash. In 2025, Thailand and Indonesia also announced bans on plastic waste imports. The world produces nearly 500 million tonnes of plastic each year, more than double the amount from two decades ago, and a growing amount of plastic waste is turning up on coastlines and riverbanks, as well as in whales, birds and other animals that ingest them. Researchers have estimated that one garbage truck's worth of plastic enters the ocean every minute. China's ban 'sent shock waves through the global plastic waste trade,' said professor Tony R Walker at the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who researches the global flow of plastic waste. The countries that started to accept that discarded plastic 'quickly became overwhelmed,' he said. Much of that plastic trash ends up dumped in landfills or is burned, which releases harmful air pollution, or is simply released into the environment. People in rich countries may assume the plastic they diligently separate is being recycled, he said, something he termed 'wish cycling'. However, instead of going into a recycling stream, 'a lot of it gets redirected to waste,' he said. Malaysia's amended Customs Act bans all plastic waste shipments from countries that have not signed the Basel Convention, a global agreement that regulates hazardous waste, including plastic. That puts the United States, the only major country that is not a party to the agreement, in a particularly tricky spot. The amended law also sets stringent restrictions on plastic waste imports from other countries, saying they must contain only one type of plastic, with at most two per cent contamination, to ensure that the imported plastics are recycled and not discarded. That level would be challenging to meet for any plastic waste collected from consumers. In an email to clients sent June 20 and shared with The New York Times, chief executive Steve Wong of global plastic waste broker Fukutomi said shipments of scrap plastic to Malaysia had already 'come to a virtual standstill'. Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastic Makers, an industry group, said the effects of Malaysia's import policy on plastic waste remained unclear. Nevertheless, 'our industry remains focused on scaling up the use of recycled plastics in new products,' he said. 'These efforts support American jobs and drive economic growth, while conserving our natural resources and helping to prevent plastic pollution.' Malaysia's ban on plastic waste imports from the United States was prompted by the discovery of hundreds of containers filled with hazardous electronic and plastic waste that had been falsely declared as raw materials in order to bypass the country's trade control laws, said researcher Wong Pui Yi at the Basel Action Network. But local industry associations have urged the government to lift the ban on clean, recyclable plastic imports, arguing that the imports are necessary to help manufacturers meet their recycled-content targets. Brands like Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have committed to using more recycled material in their products, said president CC Cheah of Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association, and the Malaysian recycling industry could still play a role. Dr Kate O'Neill, a professor of environmental science, policy and management at the University of California, Berkeley, said Malaysia's ban could mean that plastic waste starts flowing to other countries that are less able to handle the waste. Monitoring will be important, she said. 'The recycling industry still hasn't caught up with the disruption, so these exports are still needed.' That's why experts increasingly say that, on top of investing in recycling infrastructure, policies are needed to help rein in plastic production itself, for example by curbing demand for single-use plastics. Some countries negotiating a new treaty aimed at curbing plastic pollution have also called for caps on plastic production. That could come from packaging designs that cut down on plastic use, measures like plastic bag bans and overall policies that make manufacturers more responsible for the waste their products generate. Those policies have been spreading across the United States as well as globally. On July 1, a law went into effect in Illinois that prohibits large hotels from providing small, single-use plastic bottles for toiletries like shampoo and conditioner. Smaller hotels have until 2026 to comply. Also on July 1, Delaware began prohibiting restaurants from providing foam food containers, plastic beverage stirrers and plastic cocktail and sandwich picks, and requires that single-use plastic straws are only given out at the customer's request. NY TIMES
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
The U.S. Sends Lots of Plastic Trash Overseas. Malaysia Just Said No Thanks.
In the shadow of President Trump's tariff fights, a different kind of trade war is playing out involving candy wrappers and plastic bottles. On Tuesday, Malaysia, which received more discarded plastic from rich nations than any other developing country last year, effectively banned all shipments of plastic waste from the United States. That might not seem like a big deal. But the United States has increasingly relied on countries like Malaysia to deal with plastic trash. American scrap brokers sent more than 35,000 tons of plastic waste to Malaysia last year, according to trade data analyzed by the Basel Action Network, a nonprofit group that tracks plastic waste issues. Last year, after seizing more than 100 shipping containers of hazardous materials sent from Los Angeles that had been improperly labeled as raw materials, the Malaysian environment minister, Nik Nazmi, told reporters that 'we do not want Malaysia to be the world's rubbish bin.' The country's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Turmoil in the little-known trade in plastic waste has its roots in a decision by China in 2018 to ban imports of wastepaper and plastic. Before that, China had for years accepted as much as half of the globe's discarded plastic and paper. Western nations have since struggled with a buildup of plastic trash. The United States recycles less than 10 percent of the plastic it discards. (Food and other contamination in plastic waste hinders recycling, and a significant portion of plastic, like chip bags that contain layers of different plastics and other materials, simply can't be recycled economically.) Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Malaysia will stop accepting U.S. plastic waste, creating a dilemma for California
Malaysia will ban plastic waste imports from the U.S. starting Tuesday because of America's failure to abide by the Basel Convention treaty on international waste transfers, in a move that could have significant consequences for California. Malaysia emerged as a major destination for U.S. waste after China banned American waste imports in 2018. California shipped 864 shipping containers, or more than 10 million pounds of plastic waste, to Malaysia in 2024, according to the Basel Action Network, an advocacy group. That was second only to Georgia among U.S. states. Under Malaysian waste guidelines announced last month, the country will no longer accept plastic waste and hazardous waste from nations that didn't ratify the Basel Convention, the international treaty designed to reduce the international movement of hazardous and other waste. The U.S. is one of just a handful of countries, including Fiji and Haiti, that hasn't signed the pact. Malaysia will continue to accept plastic waste from Basel signatories. However, exports from those countries will be subject to pre-inspection at the nation of origin, according to the new guidelines Steve Wong, the chief executive of Fukutomi, a Hong Kong-based global plastic recycling company, suggests it is already having an effect on shipping ports. "With scrap inventories building up at ports and yards, and no clear guidance yet on the enforcement discretion or timeline of Malaysia's new system, the market for imported plastic waste has effectively frozen," he wrote in an email to people who follow recycling trends, which was shared with The Times. Much of California's plastic waste is sent overseas. A Los Angeles port spokesman said he was unaware of the impending ban. Long Beach port officials didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. An Oakland port spokesman said that facility "hasn't historically seen much volume in this commodity, so we don't anticipate any impact from this change." According to Wong's email, the coming ban has already disrupted trash export routes significantly, particularly for the plastics used in grocery bags, trash can liners and food wrap. "The scrap plastics market in Malaysia has come to a virtual standstill amid tightening import regulations and widespread uncertainty ahead of the new control regime taking effect on 1 July 2025," Wong wrote in the email. "Recyclers, traders, and suppliers are all reporting minimal or no movement of plastic waste." Jim Puckett of the Seattle-based Basel Action Network cheered Malaysia's decision. "The 'recycling' is doing more harm than good as only a fraction of the exports ever get recycled," said Puckett, the group's founder and chief of strategic direction. "The plastics that are not feasible to be recycled are often hazardous, or contain microplastics, which are commonly dumped, burned, or released into waterways. The export of plastic waste for recycling is a complete sham and it is a relief that the U.S. contribution to this plastic waste shell game is increasingly outlawed." According to California's waste agency, CalRecycle, the state exported 11.3 million tons of recyclable materials overseas to places such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico and Canada — in 2022. That number includes 100 million pounds of scrap plastic. Although the Basel Action Network's numbers indicate more than 10 million pounds went to Malaysia, CalRecycle's 2022 report didn't break down plastic exports to individual nations. A spokesperson for CalRecycle said that California "is working to reduce plastic pollution in our state and around the world" and that exports of scrap plastic have significantly declined over the last 10 years. Maria West, the agency's communications director, said that in 2018, California exported roughly 421,000 tons, or nearly 842 million pounds of plastic scrap to Malaysia. She said that number dropped 98% in 2024 to 8,000 tons, or about 16 million pounds. Several major waste companies in California, including Athens Services and Recology, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Critics of California's waste system say a 1989 state law that requires cities and jurisdictions to divert waste from landfills led to an increase in the export of waste overseas. Until 2018, China was the major importer of U.S. plastic waste. However, after China implemented it's National Sword policy — which banned the import of most plastic waste — nations began sending their waste elsewhere, often to less economically advantaged nations such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Although some of the plastic is recycled in these nations, much of it is incinerated or placed in landfills, where it chokes rivers and flows into the ocean. Waste advocates such as the Basel Action Network and participants in the Basel Convention are working to reduce the international movement of contaminated, nonrecyclable plastic from economically advantaged countries, such as the United States, to less advantaged nations. Jan Dell, the president of LastBeachCleanUp, a Laguna Beach-based anti-plastic waste organization, praised the Malaysian decision. "We're calling on cities, waste companies, brokers, and shipping companies to respect Malaysia's sovereign law and STOP all plastic waste shipments," she wrote in an email. The plastic waste must NOT be re-rerouted to other poor countries." In 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 54, a landmark plastic law that is designed to establish a circular economy for single-use plastic products and packaging. The law addresses the export of plastic waste and requires product manufacturers to certify that their products are being recycled or composted in ways that reduce environmental pollution and minimize health effects for people who live near where the product is sent. CalRecycle is currently working on drafting regulations that will enable the implementation of the law, but West, the agency's spokeswoman, said the law requires that for any material to be considered recycled, it "must go to responsible end markets, ensuring material actually gets recycled instead of becoming waste in landfills or the environment." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Malaysia will stop accepting U.S. plastic waste, creating a dilemma for California
Malaysia will ban plastic waste imports from the U.S. starting Tuesday because of America's failure to abide by the Basel Convention treaty on international waste transfers, in a move that could have significant consequences for California. Malaysia emerged as a major destination for U.S. waste after China banned American waste imports in 2018. California shipped 864 shipping containers, or more than 10 million pounds of plastic waste, to Malaysia in 2024, according to the Basel Action Network, an advocacy group. That was second only to Georgia among U.S. states. Under Malaysian waste guidelines announced last month, the country will no longer accept plastic waste and hazardous waste from nations that didn't ratify the Basel Convention, the international treaty designed to reduce the international movement of hazardous and other waste. The U.S. is one of just a handful of countries, including Fiji and Haiti, that hasn't signed the pact. Malaysia will continue to accept plastic waste from Basel signatories. However, exports from those countries will be subject to pre-inspection at the nation of origin, according to the new guidelines Steve Wong, the chief executive of Fukutomi, a Hong Kong-based global plastic recycling company, suggests it is already having an effect on shipping ports. 'With scrap inventories building up at ports and yards, and no clear guidance yet on the enforcement discretion or timeline of Malaysia's new system, the market for imported plastic waste has effectively frozen,' he wrote in an email to people who follow recycling trends, which was shared with The Times. Much of California's plastic waste is sent overseas. A Los Angeles port spokesman said he was unaware of the impending ban. Long Beach port officials didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. An Oakland port spokesman said that facility 'hasn't historically seen much volume in this commodity, so we don't anticipate any impact from this change.' According to Wong's email, the coming ban has already disrupted trash export routes significantly, particularly for the plastics used in grocery bags, trash can liners and food wrap. 'The scrap plastics market in Malaysia has come to a virtual standstill amid tightening import regulations and widespread uncertainty ahead of the new control regime taking effect on 1 July 2025,' Wong wrote in the email. 'Recyclers, traders, and suppliers are all reporting minimal or no movement of plastic waste.' Jim Puckett of the Seattle-based Basel Action Network cheered Malaysia's decision. 'The 'recycling' is doing more harm than good as only a fraction of the exports ever get recycled,' said Puckett, the group's founder and chief of strategic direction. 'The plastics that are not feasible to be recycled are often hazardous, or contain microplastics, which are commonly dumped, burned, or released into waterways. The export of plastic waste for recycling is a complete sham and it is a relief that the U.S. contribution to this plastic waste shell game is increasingly outlawed.' According to California's waste agency, CalRecycle, the state exported 11.3 million tons of recyclable materials overseas to places such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico and Canada — in 2022. That number includes 100 million pounds of scrap plastic. Although the Basel Action Network's numbers indicate more than 10 million pounds went to Malaysia, CalRecycle's 2022 report didn't break down plastic exports to individual nations. A spokesperson for CalRecycle said that California 'is working to reduce plastic pollution in our state and around the world' and that exports of scrap plastic have significantly declined over the last 10 years. Maria West, the agency's communications director, said that in 2018, California exported roughly 421,000 tons, or nearly 842 million pounds of plastic scrap to Malaysia. She said that number dropped 98% in 2024 to 8,000 tons, or about 16 million pounds. Several major waste companies in California, including Athens Services and Recology, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Critics of California's waste system say a 1989 state law that requires cities and jurisdictions to divert waste from landfills led to an increase in the export of waste overseas. Until 2018, China was the major importer of U.S. plastic waste. However, after China implemented it's National Sword policy — which banned the import of most plastic waste — nations began sending their waste elsewhere, often to less economically advantaged nations such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Although some of the plastic is recycled in these nations, much of it is incinerated or placed in landfills, where it chokes rivers and flows into the ocean. Waste advocates such as the Basel Action Network and participants in the Basel Convention are working to reduce the international movement of contaminated, nonrecyclable plastic from economically advantaged countries, such as the United States, to less advantaged nations. Jan Dell, the president of LastBeachCleanUp, a Laguna Beach-based anti-plastic waste organization, praised the Malaysian decision. 'We're calling on cities, waste companies, brokers, and shipping companies to respect Malaysia's sovereign law and STOP all plastic waste shipments,' she wrote in an email. The plastic waste must NOT be re-rerouted to other poor countries.' In 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 54, a landmark plastic law that is designed to establish a circular economy for single-use plastic products and packaging. The law addresses the export of plastic waste and requires product manufacturers to certify that their products are being recycled or composted in ways that reduce environmental pollution and minimize health effects for people who live near where the product is sent. CalRecycle is currently working on drafting regulations that will enable the implementation of the law, but West, the agency's spokeswoman, said the law requires that for any material to be considered recycled, it 'must go to responsible end markets, ensuring material actually gets recycled instead of becoming waste in landfills or the environment.'
