Canada flatly refuses to take back plastic waste from Malaysia

“There are no plans for the Canadian government to accept the waste in Malaysia,” Environment and Climate Change Canada spokeswoman Gabrielle Lamontagne said in a statement on June 13. Lamontagne said there was no indication the plastic waste originated in Canada and the ministry had contacted the Malaysian government for further details.

The Malaysian government announced in late May that it would send 3,000 tonnes of plastic waste back to 14 developed countries, including Canada, the US, Japan, France, Australia and the UK. “Developed countries must take responsibility for what they send,” Malaysian Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin said on May 21.

Ms Yeo said many of the plastic scraps shipped to Malaysia violated the Basel Convention, a UN treaty regulating the trade and disposal of plastic waste. The Southeast Asian nation became a top destination for plastic waste last year after China banned imports, disrupting the flow of more than 7 million tonnes of plastic waste a year.

Foreign plastic waste, especially non-recyclable plastic, has recently become a major problem in several Southeast Asian countries. In May, the Philippines withdrew its diplomatic staff from Canada after Ottawa refused to take back dozens of containers of plastic waste shipped to the country. The Canadian government later relented and agreed to let the Philippines ship the waste to a Canadian port.

Earlier this week, Canada announced plans to ban certain single-use plastics like straws, bags, and cutlery by early 2021 to reduce non-recyclable waste and protect the oceans.

Mai Lam