Jun 26, 2025 at 07:17 PM PDT
Karah Rucker (Anchor/News Reporter)
Malaysia says a ban on plastic waste imports from the United States will begin on Tuesday, July 1. That could create problems for California, which sends much of its plastic waste overseas.
The ban starts next week because the U.S. has failed to ratify the Basel Convention, Malaysia said. It’s one of only a few countries to do so.
Read MorePublished Jun 26, 2025 3:07 PM by The Maritime Executive
The long-awaited Hong Kong International Convention setting standards for the industry to dismantle end-of-life vessels has gone into force. It comes, however, amidst criticism that the agreement fails to address many key issues in safety and sustainability, and the concerns of beaching in ship recycling.
Read MorePublished: June 26, 2025
Updated: June 26, 2025
by Colin Staub
The Malaysian government recently published regulations indicating the country will stop all U.S.-sourced imports of scrap plastic, including e-plastics from electronics, on July 1. Reports from plastic traders indicate the flow of scrap plastic into Malaysia has already slowed.
Read MorePosted by Chris Voloschuk, Associate Editor
Published June 26, 2025
On July 1, imports of all plastic scrap will be prohibited from entering Malaysia.
Read MoreAuthor: Basel Action Network
Seattle. March 28, 2024. The waste trade watchdog Basel Action Network (BAN), which takes its name from the global Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, is warning of what appears to be another wave of illegal e-waste trafficking that is now finding its way to Malaysia. Investigations by BAN reveal a pathway of e-wastes from across the United States being exported primarily out of the port of Los Angeles on container ships to Malaysia. BAN has recently warned authorities in Malaysia of specific incoming shipments following a recent spate of raids in Malaysia, shutting down clandestine and illegal e-waste dismantling operations. It is illegal for Malaysia to receive any hazardous electronic waste from the US or other developed countries.
Image: Satellite view of one of the recently raided e-waste facilities in Malaysia. (Imagery ©2024 Maxar Technologies, Map data: ©2024 Google)
Read MoreJune 7, 2023. Today, Thailand joins 102 other countries in their ratification of the Ban Amendment to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal. The Amendment bans export of hazardous wastes of all kinds from developed countries (OECD, EU, and Liechtenstein) to developing countries. Thailand's ratification makes it clear that imports of such hazardous waste shall no longer be tolerated, while sending a strong and unequivocal message that Thailand will not tolerate any imports of hazardous waste from developed countries.
Read MoreAuthor: Steve Fisher
After returning home from his job at a car battery recycling plant in northern Mexico one evening in 2019, Azael Mateo González Ramírez said he felt dizzy, his bones ached and his throat was raspy. Then came stomach pain, he said, followed by bouts of diarrhea. The plant in Monterrey where he worked handled used car batteries, many from the United States, extracting lead as part of the process. Mr. González, 39, stacked the batteries, he said, near large containers of lead dust.
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