Add Category
Nine shipping containers at Port Klang, west of Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday were found to contain mislabeled plastic and non-recyclable waste, including a mixture of household and e-waste.
Yeo Bee Yin, minister of energy, science, technology, environment and climate change, said that the US, UK, Canada, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Netherlands, and Singapore should expect waste products to be returned.
Five containers of waste were returned to Spain last month.
On April 24, Malaysia launched a joint task force to crack down on the growing problem of illegal plastic waste imports. The authorities have since carried out 10 operations.
Last year, China banned plastic waste imports as part of an initiative to clean up its environment. That move caused a ripple effect through global supply chains, as middlemen sought new destinations for their trash, including Malaysia.
Yeo told a press conference that one UK recycling company had exported more than 50,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste in about 1,000 containers over the past two years.
"We urge the developed countries to review their management of plastic waste and stop shipping garbage to developing countries," Yeo added.
After Duterte said he was prepared to "declare war" on Canada over the issue, the Canadian government said it would cover the full cost of the return operation and pledged that the garbage will be brought back before the end of June.
On Tuesday, Caroline Thériault, deputy director of communications for the Canadian government, said the country was taking the matter "seriously" and "looking into any potential wrongdoings by the private company." It is not known how many companies are involved or their names.
"All Canadian companies are required to comply with the law and any violations will lead to legal penalties. Canadian officials have reached out to Malaysia to gather more information," she added.