Australia's waste plastic packaging is running out of overseas disposal options, as Asian nations follow China's lead and get set to ban the majority of plastic waste from coming into their countries.
Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have all just announced draconian waste import measures, which they say will stop them being overwhelmed by waste plastic, which they say is already having a detrimental impact on their environment.
According to Malaysia's Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minster, Yeo Bee Yin, Malaysia imported 34,000 tonnes of plastic waste from Australia in the first six months of this year alone. Figures from the Australian Federal Environment Department say that Australia sent around 125,000 tonnes of plastic waste to China each year before it was banned, which was around 60 per cent of the total amount sent for export.
Since China decided it was ceasing its plastics waste industry, which took in much of the world's plastic, neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam say they are being swamped with plastic waste from rich countries, including Australia.
Malaysia now says it will not accept becoming a 'plastic dumping ground' and has frozen the imports of plastic waste. Since the China ban dozens, possibly hundreds, of illegal recycling sites have sprung up around Malaysia, with authorities now in the process of shutting them down.
Thailand has said it is going to ban all imports of plastic waste by 2021, less than three years away. Like Malaysia it has seen tonnes of plastic waste dumped around the country, a direct result it says of China's ban on plastic waste imports. Thailand is also about to tax plastic bags, and has set itself a target of recycling up to 60 per cent of its plastic by 2021.
Vietnam too is has just said it will no longer be issuing licenses for waste imports, and says it will be cracking down on illegal shipments of paper, plastic and metal waste.
According to the Australian Plastics Recycling Survey, commissioned by the government, Australians consumed a total 3,500,000 tonnes of plastics in 2016-17. From that total 235,000 tonnes was sent overseas, with 180,000 tonnes recycled here. In the same period they used 5.66 billion single use plastic bags.
