CONTEXT:

• The Malaysian government said that hundreds of tonnes of imported plastic waste will be shipped back to where it came from insisting that the country did not want to be a global dumping ground.
• The announcement was made by the Malaysian Minister for Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change Yeo Bee Yin.
• The Ministry said 450 tonnes of contaminated plastic waste in 10 containers from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States will be shipped back.
• Plastic imports to Malaysia have tripled since 2016, to 8,70,000 tonnes in 2018. The Malaysian government also urged the developed countries to review their management of plastic waste and stop shipping garbage to developing countries.
• Processing such materials produce toxic fumes. Villagers near the recycle plant are suffering from asthma and itchiness.

BACKGROUND:

• Malaysia sent back five containers filled with plastic waste to Spain in April.
• 150 illegal waste recycling plants had been shut down.
• As little as nine percent of plastic produced between 1950 and 2015 has been recycled.
• Pictures of coral reefs smothered in plastic bags and river systems choked with PET bottles are produced to create awareness of the need to deal with the problem.