KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s environment minister Yeo Bee Yin announced on Jan. 20 that her country has returned almost 4,000 tonnes of plastic rubbish to mostly Western countries in recent months. “We do not want to be the garbage bin of the world,” the minister said, warning would-be sending countries to “dream on” if they expect Malaysia to recycle their rubbish for them. The cost of repatriating the rubbish from Malaysia will be borne by sending countries and shippers, Yeo said, echoing her counterparts in the Philippines and Indonesia, countries that have also reacted furiously to the trade in foreign plastic rubbish and sought to make senders pay for shipping their garbage back to where it came from. Since China banned the import of plastic waste for recycling in 2017, Southeast Asia has become a magnet for the largely-illegal trade, while images of fields of plastic rubbish bobbing on turquoise seas and of stinking plastic-engorged landfills have fueled concerns about a worldwide “plastics crisis,” with China, estimated to be the world’s biggest source of plastic pollution, becoming the latest country to ban single-use plastics on Jan. 19. This stern “polluters-will-pay-a-price” message is the subject of a new study by the World Economic Forum and PwC, one of the world’s “Big Four” accounting firms. Not only are polluters likely to see their good names tarnished or face financial sanctions, businesses and governments are shooting themselves in the foot by damaging the environment upon which some commercial activity depends.
Tag: wef
It’s a question of justice – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/37106 While the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) in Naypyidaw was primarily a business-focused gathering bringing together Burma’s political...
Advertisers in Burma ‘can’t bill It as a gold rush’ – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/36947 Much coverage of Burma’s “frontier market” has focused on sectors such as natural resources, telecommunications and manufacturing. Some...
Burma’s house speaker Shwe Mann airs Presidential ambitions – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/36842 NAYPYIDAW — Burma’s Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann told The Irrawaddy on Friday that he is interested in...
Burma’s tech sector not ready for start-up funding: Intel – The Irrawaddy: Intel – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/36765 NAYPYIDAW — Burma’s small but growing coterie of tech entrepreneurs will likely have to wait some time before...
Minister says Burma considering federal system of government – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/36672 NAYPYIDAW — Burma is considering adopting a federal system to resolve conflict with the country’s numerous ethnic armed...
Burma’s energy resources to be used for domestic needs in future, says minister – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/36665 NAYPYIDAW — Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) gathering in the Burmese capital on Thursday morning, Deputy...
“There’s a huge thirst for knowledge here” – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/37193 NAYPYIDAW – Last July, General Electric was the first American company to invest in Burma after the US...
Burma government wants investment focus away from natural resources – The Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/5642 BANGKOK – On Friday Burma’s energy minister U Than Htay told a Bangkok audience of international business leaders...