Plastic waste : shipping back of containers encouraging – Yeo

KUALA LUMPUR: The shipping back of containers filled with contaminated plastic waste to the exporting countries has been encouraging, said Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (Mestecc) Minister Yeo Bee Yin.

However, she said the statistics and full details on the matter would only be announced at a press conference in Penang on Jan 20.

“What we have done is world history as this is the first time a country has massively shipped back containers of plastic wastes to the originating countries.

“Although it had taken us a long time, we have achieved what other countries have failed to do so,” she said after visiting Wisma Bernama in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration here today.

The issue over the import of contaminated plastic waste became a hot topic last year causing Yeo to declare a war on plastic to combat the dumping of non-recyclable waste into the country.

The Ministry through the Department of Environment which acts as the Competent Authority to Basel Convention, took the decisive action to redirect hundreds of containers of plastic waste suspected to be contaminated with scheduled waste, to their home countries.

However, the Malaysian government had earlier insisted that it would not pay a sen on the cost of shipment to the originating countries. – BERNAMA

Source: NST