KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) said it fully supports the move by the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) to stop Malaysia from becoming a dumping ground of contaminated plastic and other non-recyclable wastes.

In a statement, FMM commended MESTECC’s delegation on its support for the amendment to the classification of plastic wastes under the Basel Convention, which will help Malaysia in restricting the import of such wastes from other countries.

“FMM hopes the Ministry and relevant agencies will continue to work together with the industry in tackling the issue holistically.

“These include reviewing procedures to grant operating licence by the local authorities as well as enhancing inspection at entry points of waste materials into the country with the use of advance technology i.e. artificial intelligence, and streamlining of health and safety codes,” said FMM president Datuk Soh Thian Lai.

FMM also urged for a step up in enforcement activities to investigate and address verified public complaints, adding that the review of relevant domestic legislation may be necessary to plug loopholes, address jurisdiction issues and facilitate licensing.

“FMM is hopeful that with the effective rules of law in place, irresponsible and illegal importers of contaminated waste would be penalised without affecting genuine and law-abiding manufacturers licensed to use scrap materials for their business activities,” Soh said.

The Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change minister Yeo Bee Yin yesterday said some 3,000 tonnes of illegally imported plastic waste will be sent back to their countries of origin, following the inspection by a special task force set up by the Ministry.

The task force had inspected about 123 containers, and it decided 60 containers containing 3,000 tonnes of plastic will be sent back.