Malaysia to Shutter 100 Illegal Plastic Waste Factories

One hundred illegal plastic waste factories in Malaysia are set to be shut down in the first quarter of 2019, the country’s environment minister announced.

According to a Malay Mail report, since the freeze on importing plastic waste into Malaysia took effect last summer, 61 operations were conducted in illegal factories. Licensed factories will be scrutinized to determine if their operations adhere to the law, according to the report.

Currently, some 97 illegal factories have been detected nationwide. Most are concentrated in Selangor, but others include six in Johor, 10 in Kedah and 10 in Negri Sembilan, according to the report. Additionally, the ministry has opened 36 investigation papers into the operators of the illegal factories.

Malay Mail has more details:

The government aims to shut down up to 100 illegal plastic waste recycling factories nationwide in the first quarter of this year, said Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change minister Yeo Bee Yin.

She said since the freeze on importing plastic waste into Malaysia in July last year, 61 operations were conducted on illegal factories, primarily in Selangor.

“Of this number, 52 were permanently closed down while the remainder were found to be no longer operational,” Yeoh said at a press conference during a raid on one such location in Telok Gong.

Read the full article here.