Author: Lester Kong

PLASTIC pollution continues to plague Malaysia like a difficult-to-quit but easy-to-access opioid. It is still a convenient utility without compare, which leads to microplastics in the ecosystem – including in our food – and illegal dumping that clogs urban drainage and sparks flash floods. But an outright ban on plastics might not be a viable long-term solution either.

Author: Robin Latchem

In ‘The Plastic Recycling Deception’, PT sets out practices it claims are deceptive employed by the plastic industry. It urges stakeholders to re-evaluate their approach to plastic waste management. For years, it insists, the plastic industry has promoted recycling as the solution to the world’s plastic pollution crisis. However, the report highlights that 91% of plastic is not recycled. The use of resin identification codes, often mistaken for recycling symbols, has further misled policymakers, regulators and consumers into believing in the circularity of plastic, it alleges.

Author: Aliran

On 4 April, the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) launched its latest report, “Ending waste colonialism, governing plastic pollution: Japan’s opportunity to lead Asia out of the plastic crisis”. The report highlighted waste colonialism in Malaysia caused by massive imports of Japan’s plastic waste. Since China banned solid waste imports in 2018, Malaysia has emerged as a global hub for plastic waste exports, with Japan being the leading nation exporting plastic waste to Malaysia.

Author: Rajat Ghai

A whopping 220 million tonnes of plastic waste are set to be generated in 2024, a new study has shown. There has been a steady rise in plastic waste of nearly 10 per cent (7.11 per cent) since 2021. The global average plastic waste per person this year will rise to 28 kilograms. “Just 12 countries are responsible for 60 per cent of the world’s mismanaged plastic waste, the top five being China, USA, India, Brazil, and Mexico,” the Plastic Overshoot Day report released on April 11, 2024 by Swiss non-profit EA Earth Action noted.

Author: Eva Riebeling

At the meeting of the EU Environment Council in late March, Denmark, France and Sweden spoke in favour of subjecting trans-border shipments of textile waste to the control procedures of the Basel Convention. This would make prior notification and consent obligatory for such deliveries. Exports of hazardous textile waste, such as material contaminated with chemicals or paint, should be banned altogether, the countries say.

Author: Ann Kühlers

British company Roydon Resource Recovery Ltd has been sentenced to pay a total penalty of nearly £870,000 (€1.01m) in connection with waste plastic exports improperly declared as green waste. At issue in the case were some 247 tonnes of refuse in ten shipping containers sent to Poland. The Manchester-based recycler claimed that the material was clean plastic sorted from household waste, but the shipments consisted primarily of plastics unsuitable for recycling, according to England's Environment Agency (EA), which brought the prosecution. The environmental enforcement body said that the material was also heavily contaminated with other household items including electrical equipment, nappies and oil canisters. The investigation led by the EA found that the waste was intended to be incinerated as fuel and there was no intention of it being recycled.

Author: The Malaysia Insight

MALAYSIA has emerged as a global hub for plastic waste exports, with Japan being the top exporter of such rubbish, a report shows. Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) said in a report released yesterday that Japan exported 21.7 million kg of plastic waste per month to Malaysia in 2023. Since China banned solid waste imports in 2018, Malaysia has become an international hub for such waste, the report said.

Author: Liew Yen Rou and Mikha Chan

PETALING JAYA: Japan severely underreported the export to Malaysia of more than 9,000 tonnes of plastic waste, including PVC, Basel Action Network (BAN) executive director Jim Puckett said. Puckett, whose organisation monitors plastic waste, highlighted that Malaysian authorities claimed to have only received 10 notifications for PVC waste imports from Japan last year.

Author: Beatriz Santos

Amazon generated more plastic packaging in the United States in 2022 than the year prior, a new report by Oceana, an ocean conservation non-profit, has revealed. The retail giant generated 208 million pounds (94,347 tonnes) of plastic packaging waste for all transactions in the United States in 2022, a 9.6% increase compared to 2021, according to Oceana’s estimates. Globally, on the other hand, Amazon reduced its use of single-use plastic packaging in shipping by 11.6% to 85,916 tonnes, according to the company’s 2022 sustainability report.

Author: Justine Calma

Despite making pledges to cut down on plastic packaging, a new report from the nonprofit conservation organization Oceana estimates that Amazon’s plastic waste has continued to grow in the US. The company created 208 million pounds of plastic waste from its packaging in the US in 2022 alone, which Oceana says is enough trash to circle Earth more than 200 times in the form of plastic air pillows. That’s a nearly 10 percent jump from the amount of plastic waste it generated the year before, according to the report.

Author: MalayMail

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — South-east Asia remains a significant destination for illicit waste shipments, with Europe, North America, and Asia identified as the primary regions of origin, according to a new United Nations (UN) report. The report titled “Turning the Tide: A Look Into the European Union-to-Southeast Asia Waste Trafficking Wave” highlights that illegal waste is being diverted to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, posing a significant challenge to the region.

Author: The Hindu

A major fire broke out at a godown that stocked plastics and other scrap material in Pallikaranai on Tuesday (April 2, 2024) morning. However, police said no casualties were reported.

The blaze broke out at 10.30 am at the godown located adjacent to Sixth Street, Ram Nagar South Extension. Thick smoke billowed as plastic and other inflammable materials went up in flames. The entire residential area was enveloped in smoke. Panic-stricken residents out their houses to see what was going on. 

Author: Mark Smulian

The Textile Recycling Association (TRA) has warned of an imminent collapse of the textile recycling sector because of global market difficulties. It said its members had “a real fear” they would be unable to collect from charity shops, recycling centres or community textile banks because processing plants had reached capacity. President Dawn Dungate said that some countries were unable to pay for goods because of political issues, delays in receiving goods or due to unfavourable exchange rates, which had left UK plants having to store the clothing concerned.

Author: Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Flame retardants added for decades to thousands of consumer products in the United States may raise the risk of dying from cancer, according to new research. People with the highest levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, in their blood had approximately a 300% increased risk of dying from cancer compared with people with the lowest levels, the study found.

Author: Bhavesh Bakshi

Mumbai: A significant fire erupted at a scrap godown in the Bhiwandi area of Maharashtra on Saturday night, according to fire officer Shailesh Shinde. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported thus far. Upon receiving the fire call at 11:30 pm, two fire tenders promptly arrived at the scene, initiating efforts to contain the blaze. The fire brigade is currently endeavoring to extinguish the fire, though the cause of the incident remains undetermined.