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As of July 1, under the amended Customs Act (Schedule 4, Part 1, Item 6) in Malaysia, plastic waste imports are prohibited unless they are approved by SIRIM Berhad, an agency under the purview of the Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. SIRIM is in charge of inspections and granting import permits under a new set of rules found in the Guidelines for Importation and Inspection of Waste Plastic.
Under the guidelines, plastic wastes will only be allowed from Basel Parties and thus not from the US (a non-Party), unless a special bilateral treaty is formed as allowed for under the Basel Convention. Free-trade zones will not be exempted. All exports will be subject to pre-inspection in the exporting countries. Any false HS code declarations will be considered non-compliance and subject to prosecution.
From other countries that are Basel Parties, imported plastic waste must not be mixed, with the sole exception of PP, PE, and PET mixtures. Each individual polymer must have a 99.5% purity level. Experts consider this level as impossible to meet for any post-consumer plastic waste, including electronic waste plastic, agricultural waste, and wastes arising from municipal MRFs (Materials Recovery Facilities). Furthermore, the plastic waste cannot exceed 2% of non-plastic contaminants such as wood, paper, or metal, with a zero tolerance for any food, oil, or e-waste mixed into the loads. Data from California reveals that contamination levels of plastic waste by other plastics is routinely found to be at 8-9%, while contamination levels by metal or wood are often found at levels 6-17%. High contamination rates by food and oil contaminants are also common. In short, meeting these standards will be next to impossible for post-consumer plastic.
BAN calls on all shipping lines, freight companies, plastic waste recyclers, and brokers to respect Malaysia's sovereignty and cease being accomplices in global waste dumping crimes. BAN also calls on all countries targeted by plastic waste brokers to similarly use the Basel Convention to protect their people and their environment. Other Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand and Indonesia have already announced plastic waste import bans in 2025.
"Our people and environment in Malaysia have suffered greatly from the pollution caused by imported plastic and electronic waste. Other countries in Southeast Asia are likewise being harmed by foreign plastic waste daily. We sincerely hope that exporting countries will help us put a stop to waste dumping and trafficking," said Wong Pui Yi, BAN Researcher from Kuala Lumpur. “But for these new regulations to be successful, the government must enforce them transparently, swiftly prosecute those who violate the law, and close any loopholes that may arise, including clamping down on corruption. We must remain vigilant and continue to spot-check the system with intelligence-led searches and seizures."
BAN will continue to provide governments in the region with such risk-based intelligence as part of its ongoing Operation Can Opener.
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