Hanoi (VNA) – The Malaysian government seized 106 containers filled with e-waste between March 21 and June 19 this year, and successfully dismantled a major illegal waste import syndicate in the country.
According to Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the containers will be sent back to the country of origin.
Talking reporters after inspecting the seized containers at Port Klang, west of the capital Kuala Lumpur, Ahmad said this syndicate uses false documentation to import waste for recycling purposes.
The latest seizures were prompted by information provided to Malaysia by the US-based Seattle-based Basel Action Network (BAN), a global watchdog group working to prevent the dumping of toxic wastes by rich industrialised countries on developing countries.
Statistics show that tens of millions of tonnes of e-waste are generated globally each year. Many countries, including Malaysia, have banned the import of e-waste.
According to the United Nations, in 2022, the world produced 62 million tonnes of e-waste, and less than a quarter was recycled.
Malaysia has seen a sharp rise in the illegal import of e-waste in recent years. The Southeast Asian nation was increasingly becoming a dumping ground for plastic and electronic wastes from rich countries, according to Mageswari Sangaralingam, a member of the environmental group Friends of the Earth./.
