Malaysia is being flooded with our plastics

It’s been a year since China closed its borders to the world’s plastic waste. China had accepted 70% of the United States’ recyclables and 2/3rds of the UK’s materials. One of the places where some of that has landed is Malaysia. They’re seeing a 132% jump in one year of plastic trash. Many Malaysian recyclers are operating without a government license to handle the waste and after they sort through and take out the high value plastic, they end up burning or landfilling the rest. Some towns in the country have air that smells like burning polyester and unhealthy living conditions. What’s ironic is that Malaysia has no recycling system for their own waste. So until our state and federal governments start implementing tighter regulations on packaging stop and ask yourself, “Is there a better option, with less plastic packaging” before you buy.

Malaysia is being flooded with our plastics