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Trash Landing on You: Uncovering the dirty business of the global waste trade

  • Publication Date | May 19, 2021
  • Document Type | Media Statement
  • Programmes | Pollution & Extractives
  • Issues | Pollution, Toxics, Waste
  • Tags | Basel Convention, Break Free From Plastics, GAIA, Plastic Waste
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Affected communities call for an end to the plastic waste trade

This press statement is issued by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific and #breakfreefromplastic of which SAM is a member

The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific together with #breakfreefromplastic held a media briefing today on the ongoing plastic waste trade. With speakers from both receiving and exporting countries, the event is a deep dive into the environmental and social issues brought about by the trade.

Credit: Tanvi Sharma | Unsplash

For almost three decades, the trade in plastic waste has persisted and eventually worsened as China shut its doors from receiving wastes in 2018. In effect, surrounding countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam became the new favourites of plastic waste exporters. However, most receiving countries lack proper waste strategies and facilities thus leading to the open dumping or burning of waste materials which adversely affects the health of communities and the environment.

Although efforts have been put into place to stop the illegal trade in plastic waste, countries in the Asia Pacific continue to fight an uphill battle against a torrent of unlicensed and unrecyclable wastes. In May 2019, the Philippine government – pressured by calls from civil society organisations – sent tonnes of mislabelled garbage back to Canada. Similarly, in 2020, Tunisia received containers of mixed municipal waste deceptively labelled by the Italian company Sviluppo Risorse Ambientali as recyclables. In April 2021, Malaysian authorities announced that over 300 shipping containers of illegal waste were sent back to their countries of origin.

Citing the Basel Convention, Mageswari Sangaralingam of the Consumers’ of Association of Penang & Friends of the Earth Malaysia states, “Regulations are vital and acquiring informed consent from receiving countries is a favourable first step to restraining the onslaught of plastic wastes.  We need to plug the loopholes, besides ensuring robust monitoring and enforcement measures to tackle illegal waste trade.”

Hemantha Withanage of the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) stated that the plastic waste trade is a form of injustice and stressed that the Asia Pacific is not the world’s dumping ground. “Laws are needed to address injustices and CEJ together with the rest of the Asia Pacific will utilise those laws to keep the region safe from the harmful effects of toxic waste.”

Ray Yeung of The Green Earth agrees and shares that Hong Kong has been a major free port of the plastic waste trade between wealthy economies and developing countries. However, Hong Kong has recently revised its policies and strengthened the enforcement of regulations ensuring that traders have obtained necessary permits before the arrangement of waste shipment. Since the revision, the amount of re-exporting plastic scrap dropped over 70% in February and March this year. Yeung urges the Environmental Protection Department to beef up their gatekeeping role. “Hopefully, Hong Kong will no longer be a part of this illegal practice. We will closely communicate with our partners from the Asia Pacific and we will stay vigilant and keep a close eye on inbound containers.”

Environmentalist and Indigenous rights campaigner, Tina Ngata shared, “Compared to other developed countries, New Zealand is behind in managing its wastes. While laws and stricter regulations can help curb the influx of plastic waste, the long-term solution is to completely break away from single-use plastics. What we do and what we consume affects the whole.”

With journalists from international and regional media in attendance, the media briefing offered insights into government regulations and how communities are standing firm, stressing that the Asia Pacific is not a massive landfill for plastic waste.

Media Contacts:

Sonia Astudillo, Communications Officer, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific  I sonia@no-burn.org I +63 917 5969286

Jed Alegado, Senior Communications Officer, Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) Asia Pacific I jed@breakfreefromplastic.org I +63 917 6070248

About GAIA  |  Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives is a worldwide alliance of more than 800 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration. www.no-burn.org and www.zerowasteworld.org

About Break Free From Plastic | www.breakfreefromplastic.org/ | @brkfreefromplastic

The #breakfreefromplastic Movement is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 11,000 organizations and individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and to push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. Break Free From Plastic runs the #WeChooseReuse campaign, calling for a global shift towards refillable and reusable products.

Related resources:

● Media briefing: [link]

● For more information on how communities are facing the plastic waste crisis, please visit  http://wastetradestories.org/

● Kravchenko, A [2019, November 13] Not all trade is good – the case of plastic waste.  UNESCAP. https://www.unescap.org/blog/not-all-trade-good-case-plastics-waste

● Reuters Staff [2021, April 06] Malaysia sends back over 300 containers of illicit waste. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-environment-plastic-idUSKBN2BT1YT

● Data from UN Comtrade: Malaysia’s imports of HS3915 in 2018 was 872,762 tons but reduced to 333,500 tons in 2019. It increased again in 2020 to 478,092 tons

● In 2019, The Green Earth examined the UN Comtrade database and realized that Hong Kong was the second and third largest source of plastic waste of Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines respectively in 2019.  In 2020, Hong Kong re-export 100,000 tonnes of plastic waste which equivalent to five thousand containers to Southeast Asia countries, including Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

Since the Basel Convention was ratified last year and implemented on January 1, 2021. HK EPD has then formulated the “Guidelines and References for Waste Plastics Import and Export Control”, which requires proper declaration for import or re-export of regulated waste plastics.  In 2021, the amount of importing and re-exporting plastic scraps dropped 30% (9600 tonnes) and 70% (1284 tonnes) respectively in March this year.

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Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah satu badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang telah sekian lama berjuang mempertahan kelestarian alam. Ia juga mendidik masyarakat tentang pentingnya kebersamaan dalam pemikiran dan tindakan agar alam ini dapat kita wariskan kepada generasi hadapan dalam keadaan yang elok dan terpelihara. Dalam pada itu juga SAM giat membantu golongan nelayan pantai dalam memperjuangkan hak-hak mereka sehinggalah tertubuhnya Persatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING). Nelayan pantai sepenuh masa ini dididik oleh SAM sehingga mereka mampu memainkan peranan sebagai pemimpin nelayan yang meneruskan kesinambungan memperjuangkan hak-hak nelayan pantai lainnya. Sebagai contoh SAM telah berjaya menyedarkan masyarakat nelayan keperluan menjaga hutan paya bakau untuk kebaikan hasil tangkapan nelayan itu sendiri.
Jamaluddin Mohamad Bualik
Jamaluddin Mohamad BualikPersatuan Pendidikan dan Kebajikan Jaringan Nelayan Pantai Malaysia (JARING)
During the 1980s, I used to read about the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) in the news. After retirement, some time in 2001, while lazing around, I read news about the construction of a carbon in leach plant using sodium cyanide to extract gold in Bukit Koman. My friends and I visited CAP and we were introduced to SAM and her legal team. We discussed the details of filing a case against the gold mining company and the department of environment with Ms Meenakshi Raman and her legal team. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between lawyers from SAM and many of us from Bukit Koman. We had many ups and downs in our struggle to shut down the gold mine that was causing a nuisance in our village. But, as a community we never gave up because SAM had our backs.
Hue Fui How
Hue Fui HowSecretary, Bukit Koman Ban Cyanide in Goldmining Action Committee (BCAC)
Sahabat Alam Malaysia adalah sebuah NGO yang memperjuangkan nasib masyarakat luar bandar khasnya. SAM menerima aduan-aduan masyarakat dan menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi. SAM telah mewujudkan ramai aktivis-aktivis sosial dan alam sekitar. Pada era 1980 dan 90an SAM sangat dihormati oleh masyarakat dan agensi kerajaan. Apabila media sosial menguasai maklumat maka SAM pun terkesan dan masalah masyarakat terus disalurkan dengan pelbagai cara. SAM perlu mewujudkan aktivis-aktivis pelapis yang muda untuk terus membantu masyarakat. SAM juga perlu membuat perubahan supaya banyak turun kelapangan dan jangan mengharapkan laporan media sahaja. Tingkatkan prestasi sebagaimana pada zaman kegemilangan SAM di era 80-90an.
Che Ani Mt Zain
Che Ani Mt Zain
SAM taught me the importance of social activism and the role it plays in upholding the rights of people and the protection of the environment. In my experience, SAM has never hesitated to speak up in defence of people and their environment, and has gone the extra mile to champion their rights, by helping communities take their battles to the higher ups and even to the courts.
Jessica Binwani
Jessica BinwaniPublic/Private Interest Lawyer
Semenjak kami kenal SAM, banyak pengalaman dan pengetahuan yg kami dapat. Kami telah belajar cara membuat baja asli daripada SAM. Semenjak itu, bermulalah minat kami dalam aktiviti pertanian. Dengan memperolehi kemahiran dalam membuat baja asli dan penanaman lestari, kami juga telah dapat menambahkan pendapatan sampingan kami. Ini lebih baik daripada tanah kami terbiar dan tidak diusahakan. Terima kasih SAM kerana sudi memberi bantuan dan tunjuk ajar kepada Persatuan kami.
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Chedo Anak NyuwenPersatuan Penduduk Sg Buri, Bakong, Marudi
My journey with SAM started when her community organisers took me to the meet the paddy farmers of Kedah, connecting my growing interest in environmental law with our people who struggle to work the land in the face of pollution, replacement of traditional seeds with commercial hybrids and their accompanying chemical package of fertilisers and weedicides. I then had the honour to work with SAM in the struggle for the rights of the native communities of Sarawak, in defence of their forests from massive logging and destructive mega-projects. In every issue that SAM takes up, she combines rigorous research with the realities and voices of the communities to advocate for policies and laws that care for people and nature. From the courts to the elected legislators to policy makers and implementers and to the United Nations, SAM walks side by side with the communities in Malaysia. How can I not be inspired by the vision and passion of the generations of women and men who coalesce to form SAM?
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Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Headquarters)
No. 1, Jalan Joki, 11400 Penang,
Malaysia
Tel: +604 827 6930
Fax: +604 827 6932

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Marudi Office)
129A, First Floor,
Jalan Tuanku Taha,
P.O.Box 216,
98058 Marudi, Baram, Sarawak,
Malaysia
Tel & Fax: +6085 758 973

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