Malaysia will no longer accept waste imports from the U.S. since America has failed to comply with the international treaty governing overseas waste transfers.
As News Nation reported, Malaysia's government has approved a ban on plastic and hazardous waste from countries that refuse to follow the Basel Convention rules. The Basel Convention treaty has been in effect since 1992 and aims to minimize the trade of harmful waste between nations.
China banned U.S. waste imports in 2018, which led to Malaysia becoming the next focus for American garbage. Since the U.S. has not signed the Basel Convention treaty, it will now need to find a different destination for discarded items.
Meanwhile, Malaysia will continue to accept waste from countries that have signed the treaty, provided it is pre-inspected in the countries of origin.
The Malaysian ban is concerning for the U.S. because much of California's plastic waste has been shipped to Malaysia recently.
California was one of the largest exporters of plastic waste to Malaysia, but the process is now facing service disruptions. Significant amounts of trash can liners, grocery bags, and food wrap packaging are piling up with nowhere to go.
"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," wrote Steve Wong, CEO of a plastics recycling company. "Recyclers, traders, and suppliers are all reporting minimal or no movement of plastic waste."
Our world faces an enormous issue with excess trash, with landfills overflowing and polluting our land, water, and air. Gone are the carefree days when we could simply send our trash somewhere else and pretend like it doesn't exist.
Plastic trash is a major source of the problem, as many consumer products are made with plastic that can't be effectively recycled or reused. Discarded plastic items break down into microplastics, posing health risks to humans, as well as to plants and animals in the wild.
While the global plastic crisis may seem daunting, there are actions we can take, both individually and collectively, to make a meaningful difference.
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Additionally, researchers have been making breakthroughs with new strategies to break down plastic pollution into useful chemicals that can be converted into valuable products. By embracing innovative technologies like biodegradable plastics designed to naturally degrade, we can prevent new plastic pollution and contribute to a more sustainable world.
In your daily life, you can opt for reusable grocery bags over plastic ones and find many plastic-free options for the products you commonly use.
"The 'recycling' is doing more harm than good as only a fraction of the exports ever get recycled," Jim Puckett from the Basel Action Network commented on the Malaysian ban. "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."
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