PORT KLANG, Malaysia — Malaysia will send back some 3,000 metric tons (3,300 tons) of non-recyclable plastic waste to countries such as the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia in a move to avoid becoming a dumping ground for rich nations, Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said Tuesday. Yeo said Malaysia and many developing countries have become new targets after China banned the import of plastic waste last year. Yeo said the waste from China appeared to be garbage from France and other countries that had been rerouted after a ban imposed by China. In one case alone, Yeo said a U.K. recycling company exported more than 50,000 metric tons (55,000 tons) of plastic waste in about 1,000 containers to Malaysia over the past two years. “This is probably just the tip of the iceberg (due) to the banning of plastic waste by China,” Yeo told a news conference.

Source: National Post May 28, 2019 05:14 UTC