The ban covers all waste, parings and scraps of plastics under HS Code 39.15, placed under Schedule 1, Part I (Prohibition On Import) Order 1998 of the Customs Act 1967.
“The ban will be reviewed after the period,” the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said in a statement released yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.
MITI said the decision was made after considering the fact that the importation of unclean and chemically contaminated plastic waste for processing could potentially cause damage to the environment due to contaminants such as residual pesticides and soils as well as harmful pathogens.
In addition, there is no effective approach to monitor or ensure that only uncontaminated plastic waste is being imported into the country.
The ministry also announced that the ban will not affect the import of recycled/ crushed plastic pellets, obsolete stocks, production overruns and other plastic products that are “clean” as these are classified under tariff code HS39.01-39.14.
Currently, companies issued with a manufacturing license or incentives for the recycling of plastic waste are not allowed to import plastic waste for recycling.
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