Phnom Penh (VNA) – The Cambodian Government has finedChungyuen Plastic Manufacture 250,000 USD for importing 1,600 tonnes of plasticwaste from the US and Canada.
The company was ordered to return the waste to the US andCanada by August 24, said Kun Nhim, head of Cambodia’s Customs Department,adding that the firm will receive further sanctions if it fails to send backthe shipment on time and pay the fine.
The waste was discovered in 83 containers in Sihanoukville portearlier this month, of which 70 were from the US and the rest from Canada. Thecase caused outrage among localofficials.
China’s ban onplastic waste imports from last year has thrown global recycling sector intocrisis, forcing developed countries to find new places to send waste. As aresult, a huge amount of waste has been sent to Southeast Asian ports.
Cambodia is themost recent country to refuse waste imports. Earlier this month, Indonesiareturned dozens of containers full of waste to France and other developedcountries. In May this year, Malaysia also shipped 450 tonnes of importedplastic waste back to its source.
Each year, about300 million tonnes of plastic waste is released to the environment, most ofwhich is not recycled but buried or thrown into the ocean.-VNA
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