Malaysia Has Just Returned Plastic Waste From US & UK But India Is Still A ¡®Garbage Dump¡¯ Despite Ban

Malaysia has sent back 150 shipping containers of plastic waste to mostly wealthier nations, with the Southeast Asian country saying Monday it would not be the world's "garbage dump".

The region has been flooded with plastic from more developed economies such as the United States and Britain since 2018, after China -- which previously boasted a massive recycling industry -- ordered a halt to most imports.

Many Chinese recycling businesses moved to Malaysia after the ban took effect, leading to huge quantities of plastic being shipped in without permits and flooding small communities. Governments across the region are now sending back illegally imported plastic, and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said Malaysia had returned 150 shipping containers carrying 3,737 metric tons to places including France, Britain and the United States.

Officials hope to send back another 110 containers in the near future, 60 of which came from the US, news agency AFP reported.

On the other hand, India, though fighting aggressively against the use of plastic in recent times, has long remained safe heaven for garbage from developed countries to be dumped easily. Containers of waste, including hazardous plastics, are imported, often illegally and disposed off quite frequently in the coastal regions of India.

India had banned the import of plastic waste from August 2019. But, plastic waste is being imported into India, an expose by two civil society organisations had claimed on October 28, 2019.

As many as 38 containers of contaminated waste were diverted by Indonesian officials to India instead of the United States (US), Indonesian civil society group, ¡®Nexus 3¡¯ as well as Basel Action Network (BAN), a global waste watchdog formed under an international treaty, were quoted as saying by Down To Earth Magazine, which is run by Centre for Science And Environment.

Out of these 38, as many as 25 containers arrived at Indonesia on June 27, 2019, and August 2, 2019. They were supposed to contain mixed paper and were going to a paper recycling unit there. But, they were found to be mixed with hazardous and plastic waste. Therefore, these containers were supposed to be returned to the country of origin, that is, the US.

Notably, India has cracked down upon single-use plastics and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to announce a nationwide ban on its use on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti last year. The announcement did not happen in the wake of resistance from corporate groups as well as employees in the plastic industry but several steps have since been taken to tackle the crisis.

All such efforts will prove to be meaningless in the long run if India continues to remain a ¡°garbage dump¡± for developed nations. The existing rules need to be implemented with more seriousness while import of garbage in any form should be checked and curbed subsequently.