According to the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change, 150 containers with estimated 3,737 metric tonnes of plastic waste had been returned to the source countries, mostly developed countries such as the US, the UK, Japan, Canada, Spain and France.
Minister of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Yeo Bee Yin said at a press conference at Butterworth Port in Penang state that the additional 110 containers to be sent back include 60 from the US, 15 from Canada and 14 from Japan, while others came from the UK, Belgium, Mexico, Hungary, France and Jamaica.
The Minister said the containers had been sent back without the government incurring any costs, which had been borne by the companies responsible for importing the plastic waste illegally to Malaysia.
Since 2018, Southeast Asia has been the destination of plastic waste hailing from developed nations after China banned waste import. Apart from Malaysia, some other countries in the region like Indonesia and the Philippines have also sent back hundreds of waste containers to the countries of origin.
