The Environment and Water Ministry has vowed to take action on illegal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling plants following an investigative report published by Malaysiakini.
In a statement today, the ministry's chief secretary Zaini Ujang said the ministry would conduct enforcement operations in the locations identified by Malaysiakini.
"(Our ministry) would like to thank Malaysiakini for reporting on the matter and we always welcome any information that can help the government handle environmental issues," Zaini said.
In the special report published three days ago, Malaysiakini revealed several locations used to recycle e-wastes that were illegally imported.
The industry, according to sources, had strong links with China. The process of extracting precious metals from e-waste, the sources said, also damaged the environment because burning, smelting and cooking processes were needed.
Zaini explained that the e-waste recycling industry was regulated under the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005.
This law does not allow any licensed recyclers to work on imported e-wastes. The act of importing e-wastes itself is illegal, he said.
"All licensed recycling plants are only allowed to process e-waste from Malaysia... Anyone who receives or allows for the receipt of imported e-wastes is in violation of Section 34B of the Environmental Quality Act 1974," he said.
The authorities have repatriated 42 containers containing e-wastes in 2021 and 39 containers until September this year, Zaini added. - Mkini
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