Malaysia has issued a permanent ban on the import of plastic waste according to its Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.
The Minister also said that the country would be eliminating the import of other types of plastic within three years.
This decision was made in a meeting on 26 October between Zuraida Kamaruddin’s Ministry and the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change; Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources; and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
The Government had previously imposed a three-month freeze on the issuance of approved permits for the import of plastic waste.
This ban follows the viral social media stories about how Malaysia had become a “dumping ground” for plastic waste from other countries.
