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A NEW Interpol report on global plastic waste management has found an alarming rise in the illegal plastic waste trade around the world since 2018.
Interpol has highlighted the infiltration of criminal networks into the plastic waste trade through illegal redirection of shipments and unauthorized waste management methods.
The scale of the mismanagement of plastic waste is far reaching, affecting at least 52 of the 257 trade routes analyzed by Interpol.
For decades, China was an easy destination for plastic waste, receiving half of the world’s total volume. Following its decision to restrict imports of plastic waste in 2018, the rerouting of shipments has overwhelmed alternative countries, opening the door to opportunistic crime.
Developing countries in Asia, especially those with limited waste management and law enforcement capabilities, are increasingly targeted.
In May 2020, Malaysia began the costly and extensive process of repatriation of 3,737 metric tons of plastic waste (equivalent to 150 shipping containers) to 13 countries of origin.
International measures on plastic waste traded globally will be imposed from 2021 under the Basel Convention. Nonetheless, Interpol has highlighted the need for increased law enforcement, as criminals are known to be able to take advantage of changes in regulations to their advantage in recent years.
Global plastic pollution is one of the most pervasive environmental threats to the planet today, and its proper regulation and management is vitally important for environmental safety around the world, said the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Compliance Committee and Interpol Environmental Enforcement, Calum MacDonald, who is also Executive Director of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.
WWF recognizes the need for countries, including Malaysia, to enhance cooperation between law enforcement authorities locally and internationally to address how criminal networks use vulnerabilities in global shipping lanes to smuggle everything from illegal plastic waste to plastic products. wild life.
According to Jazlyn Lee, EPR Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator for WWF, “The crime of waste is a growing threat rooted in a more fundamental problem: the inability to manage the use and production of plastic.”
The impacts of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems and the environment as a whole are already far-reaching and now the criminal implications of waste-related crime are compounding the problem.
To address transboundary waste crimes, there is an urgent need for countries to develop a National Action Plan, strengthen the governance framework and transparency to effectively manage local waste, and shift towards a circular economy model.
A circular economy model can be achieved by reducing or eliminating problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic items, and increasing recyclability and recycled content in packaging by adopting an extended producer responsibility system at the national level.
Following Interpol’s call for improved international and interagency law enforcement cooperation, WWF has outlined further recommendations for an international response by governments:
a) Accelerate negotiations for a legally binding global agreement with clear national regulations and action plans, including support for waste management in low-income countries;
b) Strengthen existing mechanisms, such as phasing out single-use plastics, improving national recycling capacity in developed markets and addressing waste management deficiencies in developing economies;
c) Innovate and expand environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic; and
d) Invest in research and capacity building to improve the monitoring and enforcement of plastic waste.
Nearly two million people around the world have signed a WWF petition urging their governments to establish a legally binding global treaty to tackle marine plastic pollution, and 133 countries have already expressed support for exploring the option of a global deal.
WWF MALAYSIA
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