From Jim Puckett and S Mageswari
The Basel Action Network (BAN) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) are deeply concerned about criticism of the Malaysian government over its courageous crackdown on illegal e-waste recycling operations that have sprung up throughout the country.
We must be clear – these illegal operations are run by criminal syndicates looking to reap quick and maximum profits, extracting copper, gold, and other valuable materials from the scrap, exploiting the most low-cost and vulnerable labour force (often undocumented migrants), avoiding any form of pollution control costs, and then illegally dumping the toxic residual material at the lowest cost.
Do not be fooled. There is a reason why China banned the import of e-waste and plastic waste with its National Sword Policy in 2018.
China’s air, water, and soil were rapidly becoming contaminated, with people falling sick and agricultural land being destroyed. The economic damage from this environmental harm far outweighed the economic returns.
Unfortunately, China did not forbid its businessmen from moving the same dirty operations abroad, and they came in droves to Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
We have become the new destinations for toxic, problematic, difficult-to-recycle waste from all over the world, which history has proven will bring more negative consequences than positive value.
We have taken over from China as the unwitting victims of this so-called “recycling” – which is, in fact, dumping by another name.
The environment department, customs department, police, immigration department and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deserve the highest accolades for their ongoing work in keeping the country safe from these waste crimes.
All of these agencies are, in fact, ensuring that Malaysia meets its international obligations and implements a treaty that the global community enacted decades ago in 1989.
This global treaty is known as the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
It forbids the most egregious forms of dumping by industrialised countries that prey on developing economies by dangling promises of raw materials, and requires signatories to enforce strict control procedures for legitimate recycling and re-use operations.
What Putrajaya has found running rampant in Malaysia are illegitimate operations by strictly regulated licensed e-waste recyclers. These are a result of criminal activities trafficking in toxic and other waste from countries like the US and Japan.
Within Malaysia, we are suddenly hearing from some very vocal players who have taken to the media to criticise the rule of law, the government, and especially the environment department.
Their arguments are baseless and reveal either ignorance about the ugly economics of the global waste trade, or an intention to be in league with those who perpetuate the dumping.
Malaysian news outlets have been quoting an “expert” about e-waste policies. Based on his LinkedIn, he has experience in the media and hospitality industry and has been cited as the “founder” of an NGO.
Meanwhile, another armchair critic began publishing a series of “expert opinions” on the issue this month.
They are both dangerously calling for the government to lift its ban on e-waste imports, perhaps not realising that doing so would cause Malaysia to violate its obligations under international law.
We initially did not believe it was warranted to engage with such articles full of inaccuracies. However, when 15 such articles have been published across various platforms since August 2024, either directly authored by these “experts” or quoting them, it appears we may be witnessing a calculated attack.
The primary argument proffered is that, when there is so much illegal activity, perhaps the law is the problem and we should just allow the e-waste to flow in but strictly controlled. The writers opine that, after all, there is a lot of wealth and good that can come from recycling.
In fact, as China discovered years ago and acted decisively upon, the import of electronic and plastic waste represents a net loss to the country. The only solution is to ban its importation.
If the waste is so valuable and the processing so profitable, why would entrepreneurs with access to capital investment in the US not build “green” facilities to extract the value cleanly?
Why would they let this value go straight to Southeast Asia, now that China no longer accepts the material?
The fact is most e-waste is of negative or marginal value if the environmental impacts from the recycling process are adequately addressed and carefully mitigated, and the unrecyclable residues are safely managed.
Only some portions of the material are economically viable to be recycled. Much of the e-waste smuggled to Malaysia includes the plastic housing of electronic equipment, which is of low value and may contain toxic “forever chemicals”.
The waste trade from countries like the US, China, and now Malaysia exists due to the pollution haven hypothesis.
Malaysia has unwittingly offered a pollution haven for operators who extract the value from a limited part of the waste load for their own profits and dump the rest to ensure minimal costs. If they could not dump or pollute with impunity, the profits would dwindle and even disappear.
Experts of 191 countries figured this out, just as China did. They are parties to the Basel Convention, correctly creating strict global controls and prohibitions to level the playing field and foster truly sustainable businesses that don’t depend on exploiting weaker economies and marginalised communities.
Malaysia embraced these rules after much rigorous debate. In 2025, new rules came into force to respond to the horrific levels of global dumping and devastating pollution being witnessed.
As of this year, all e-waste traded is subject to international controls of prior informed consent, not only those labelled as “hazardous waste”. The Basel Convention is updated, not outdated!
These rules are designed to protect our environment and people. But like any law, without enforcement, it is not worth the paper it is printed on. Malaysia is now providing the necessary enforcement and we should encourage this important and complex work.
We should not pretend to be experts and apologists for the waste traders that chose to collude with mafia-like operators evidently happy to sacrifice our environment and public health to make a quick profit.
The consequences are serious – pollution from mismanaged e-waste can cause cancer, affect brain development, disturb endocrine systems, and cause birth defects.
These effects are irreversible and will affect future generations. The Malaysian government is a regional leader in e-waste policy and should uphold the ban on the importation of e-waste. - FMT
Jim Puckett is the executive director of Basel Action Network and S Mageswari is the honorary secretary of Sahabat Alam Malaysia.
The views expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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