Wednesday, October 16, 2019

A Trashy Situation

Third World countries are used to receiving what the developed nations do not want: be it medicine, used cars and used clothes. We gladly import them, and there is a ready market for (especially) refurbished vehicles & 'bundle' clothes.

In a reasonably recent development, Southeast Asian countries in particular have been the recipients of trash for 'recycling'. The only thing is, the trash are in such poor state that they are beyond help.

Photo source: "Malaysia plans to return 3,300 tons of plastic trash to US, UK, Canada & Australia": https://www.businessinsider.com/malaysia-sending-back-trash-to-countries-2019-5?IR=T



Yesterday I happened to watch The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on youtube & Trevor (as if we know each other) happened to be talking about this.

Asian Nation Rejects Western Trashhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-htnUTN4mH0

Southeast Asia sends back heaps of trash to rich 
countries: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Southeast-Asia-sends-back-heaps-of-trash-to-rich-countries

Quoted from the Asia Nikkei article:

  • In June (2019), Jakarta sent back to the U.S. five containers labeled as "paper waste," but which also included plastic, rubber and diapers.
  • In Cambodia, 83 containers of plastic waste that were mislabeled as recyclables and sent to Sihanoukville port are heading back to the U.S. and Canada, government officials said earlier this month.
  • Sri Lanka says it is shipping back to the U.K. 111 containers that were found on July 22. After residents complained about the foul smell, officials found medical waste included in the trash.
  • Malaysia said at the end of May that it will send back hundreds of tons of smuggled waste that had come from countries such as Japan, the U.S. and Australia.
  • Also in late May, the Philippines shipped back 69 trash-filled containers from Canada that had been left at a port. President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to declare war against Canada, recalling the ambassador to the North American country at one point. Ottawa agreed to retrieve the waste, covering the cost.


All these while, China have been receiving & processing the developed countries' trash. Recently (from January 2018), as a result of China imposing an import ban on trash, the shipments had to be redirected to other countries, mainly in Southeast Asia. [Could this ban by China be related to the trade war, the mind ponders].

These trash that China no longer wants, most of them have ended up in Malaysia (oh-emm-gee!!): World Focus: Malaysia, where the world sends its trash https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/world-focus-where-the-world-sends-its-trash. Greenpeace said that we have become the world's rubbish bin. All these while I was hoping that Malaysia would be known for something 'international' but this really won't do 😕



In the photo below, our Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister, Ms Yeo Bee Yin is seen to be holding one sample of plastic waste.

Photo source: Malaysia to return illegally imported plastic waste to where it came from
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/not-just-developed-countries-even-bangladesh-sending-unwanted-plastic-waste-to-malaysia 
[Footnote: some of the trash are from Bangladesh & Singapore, what laaaa]



There have also been some clampdown on illegal recycling factories, some are allegedly owned by firms from China >> Chinese recycling firms bypass M'sian regulations amid suspicion of graft https://www.todayonline.com/world/graft-suspected-behind-moves-chinese-firms-dumping-plastic-waste-malaysia
[Footnote: in business, this is probably them (the China firms) applying 'outsourcing']



My take on it/ My 2 cents:
1) The Ministry name need a revamp [make it shorter & pronouncaeable in one breath]; and
2) Sending back the trash is a step in the right direction [it is ironic that the developed nations heavily promote recycling and sustainable living, while conveniently flicking their trash problem elsewhere].

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