When I penned this post after reading this article, I had trouble coming up with the title I felt there was a message in the article. Malaysia’s import of plastic waste has increased dramatically since the ban of waste import in China in end 2018. With that, the world needs another dump site for waste – that’s where Malaysia comes into the picture.
Malaysia is still a developing country, though we like to think that we’re developed but there is still more to be done. With the ongoing fiasco of the 1MDB investigation and financial woos that came along with – our economy could certainly use a boost and the recycling industry seems right. It is estimated to be a USD 850,000, might not seem a lot but let’s not forget the amount of waste Malaysia imported grew from 168,500 tonnes in 2016 to 316,600 tonnes in 2017 to 456,000 tonnes in 2018. However one thing needs to happen before Malaysia commercially commits to recycling being a major industry – regulations must be established and enforced, with severe consequences if not adhered to.
Being a developing country, we still need to tackle and setup proper regulations and enforce them to ensure recycling factories and companies do not take advantage of the lackluster government and regulator to illegally manage their business. Growing up in Malaysia and reading the news from Channel News Asia reminds me of the mindset that we have in country, mindset of the citizen and those who came to Malaysia – we must have a higher regard and respect for our country and environment. Too often you can see trash and garbage being left in places where the authorities do not visit; broken furniture, food waste, household garbage, trash from small business accumulate on roadsides. It is unsightly, and demeaning to those living around the area. This is indirectly the same reason why some illegal recycling companies are able to dump / burn their trash in open spaces – due to the lack of civility in the entire country that attracted this practice. We can surmise other reasons for such bad practies is just due to bad ethics.
Malaysia is fortunate the recent ban on waste import by China has led to an increased awareness in waste processing and recycling business activity in the country, which led to the government taking a closer look at things. Once the regulations are established and enforced consistently, we’ll need to tackle the next larger issue – changing mindsets that profitability is not the only criteria, but ensuring the business practices are sustainable and environmentally friendly. It’s a monumental task but it is necessary for livable future.