According to new data, Malaysia has become the world’s second-largest importer of plastic waste from the European Union, South China Morning Post reported.
Eurostat reveals that in 2023 the European Union exported 8.5 million tons of waste materials—including paper, plastic, and glass—to other countries, marking a 34% increase from 2022. Notably, over 20% of this waste was destined for Malaysia, with plastic waste exports to the country rising by 35% compared to the previous year. These figures underscore Malaysia’s growing role as a primary destination for EU waste.
“For exports of recyclable plastic, Turkey was the largest destination (at 22 per cent), followed by Malaysia (21 per cent) and Indonesia (19 per cent),” the report says.
EU data indicates that in 2023, Malaysia imported 283,000 tonnes of waste from the European Union—an increase of 99,000 tonnes compared to the previous year.
This surge occurred just before a November 2023 commitment by EU lawmakers to halt plastic waste exports to countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) beginning in mid-2026. As Malaysia is not an OECD member, it will be directly affected by this upcoming ban.
In its monthly report on October 1, plastic waste trade watchdog group Basel Action Network (BAN) called out the EU for the continued increase in plastic waste exports to poorer countries, which reached 78,000 tonnes in June of this year, compared to 58,000 tonnes in June 2023. Citing the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade), BAN reported that the export of EU plastic waste to Malaysia has risen since January.
Amid increasing worries, the Malaysian government remains reluctant to ban waste imports, viewing them as economically advantageous.
“Recycling provides opportunities to reduce oil reliance, carbon dioxide emissions and the quantities of waste requiring disposal,” said the Malaysian Investment Development Agency (MIDA) in a July 2020 statement.
According to the agency, Malaysia has attracted investments totaling 199.5 million ringgit (US$46 million) from 55 plastic recycling projects, resulting in the creation of over 3,300 jobs nationwide.