People walk through plastic waste piled outside an illegal recycling factory in Jenjarom in Kuala Langat district, Malaysia. (Photo: Reuters) Hanoi (VNA) – Malaysia is making plans to ship Canadian trash back after denouncing Canada’s “irresponsible” export of plastic waste.
With the act, it is the second Asian nation after the Philippines to do so.
On May 27, Malaysian officials opened a shipping container filled with plastic bags from major Canadian chains, as well as product packaging stamped with "Made in Canada" labels from recognizable brands.
Authorities did not identify which company exported the plastic from Canada. But they said it will be returned to that exporter after it was deemed to be too contaminated and of insufficient value for legitimate recyclers in Malaysia to take it in.
Malaysian Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said he hopes Canadians will be angry when they know the case as it’s “household garbage”.
He said Malaysia and many developing countries have become new targets after China banned the import of plastic waste for recycling in 2017.
On May 26, the Philippines banned all government trips to Canada, highlighting the Southeast Asian country’s diminished interaction with Canada in the face of a garbage issue.
In 2013 and 2014, a Canadian company sent to the Philippines 103 containers labeled as plastics for recycling. However, an inspection of the Philippines Bureau of Customs found that the containers were filled with different types of waste, including household trash, diapers, newspapers and plastic bottles.
Earlier this month, Manila asked Ottawa to take back the garbage before May 15, but the Canadian government missed the deadline, making the Philippines take tough diplomatic actions.-VNA
