KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia will address waste trafficking at the regional and global levels during its chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping this year, a Malaysian official said here on Wednesday.
Such efforts are critical to the region's acceleration towards a circular economy and low-carbon model. Efforts to combat waste trafficking will take into account the capabilities of each of the grouping's member states, Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong said at the "Waste Trafficking and Circular Economy" seminar organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
"Waste trafficking disrupts legitimate trade, impacts and hinders sustainability efforts and the transition to a circular economy," he said, citing data from UNODC's report which highlighted that ferrous metals, copper, aluminum, plastics, and paper are the most trafficked waste types globally.
Liew added that the problem was predatory, with waste largely originating from developed countries in the West and being illegally trafficked and dumped in developing countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.
"This waste trafficking from high-income to low- and middle-income economies persists as a significant phenomenon, despite existing control measures in both the European Union and Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia, alongside Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand, collectively accounted for 96.6 percent of ASEAN's waste imports between 2017 and 2021."
"Europe, North America and other countries within Asia are consistently identified as the primary sources of origin for illegal waste shipments to Southeast Asia," he said.
Liew also noted that waste trafficking undermines legitimate industry players, which in turn undermines efforts to transition to a circular economy. He urged greater efforts to stop waste trafficking and called on the European Union and the U.S. to curb waste trafficking at the source. ■
