Thousands of tonnes of illegally imported plastic waste will be returned to their countries of origin. The containers were found to hold hazardous, household and electronic waste.
It was only a matter of time before the bubble burst. Following China's decision to drastically reduce imports of waste and plastic from foreign countries, Italy included, last month Malaysia also decided to send back thousands of tonnes of waste that had been illegally imported into the country. The measure was announced by Yeo Bee Yin, Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change, last Tuesday, when she publicly declared that the Asian country would return the first 450 tonnes of contaminated waste to its countries of origin, stating that she had no intention of allowing Malaysia to become the world's dumping ground.
According to Reuters, at least three thousand tonnes of waste have been seized pending return to their countries of origin. "These containers were brought into the country illegally, through false declarations and other environmental offences," Minister Yeo reportedly told the press after inspecting the containers at Port Klang, on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur. Inside, non-recyclable plastic waste was found, along with hazardous waste, household waste and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). The countries named by the minister include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Singapore, France, Australia and three others (among which Italy is a probable inclusion).
Since 2017, Malaysia has been importing 20 per cent of the European Union's plastic waste, following the Chinese ban. Data released by Eurostat indicate that "Italy exports a quantity of waste weighing the equivalent of 445 fully loaded Boeing 747s, passengers included," explains Greenpeace in a report. According to the same report, Italian waste ending up in Malaysia grew by 195 per cent in just one year. Following the Chinese ban, Malaysia became the most popular destination, where dozens of companies involved in waste management and recycling have sprung up — often, however, without licences and in breach of environmental regulations. According to the minister, a single British company exported more than 50,000 tonnes of plastic to Malaysia in just two years.
The situation is clearly far worse than anticipated, not least because the unsuspecting citizen who dutifully sorts and recycles their waste is often unaware of where it ends up. And we certainly cannot allow South-East Asia to become the dumping ground of Western society, simply because we are unable to manage, treat or recycle our own waste properly.