The United Kingdom will take back 42 cargo containers with illegal plastic waste it had earlier shipped to Malaysia, the UK High Commission in Kuala Lumpur and the Malaysian Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (Mestecc) said in a joint statement on Monday.
"The British High Commission’s proactive action of working closely with Mestecc in repatriating 42 plastic import containers in Penang Port is highly commendable," Mestecc Chief Yeo Bee Yin said, as quoted by the New Straits Times.
She added that the UK-Malaysian cooperation over this issue can serve as an example to other countries.
UK Commissioner Charles Hay, in term, was quoted as saying that "the repatriation of these 42 containers reflects our [UK's] commitment to fighting the illegal plastic waste trade."
The shipment back to the UK will be conducted in line with the Basel Convention, which regulates the movements of hazardous wastes and is aimed at preventing the less developed countries from becoming dumping grounds of waste from developed countries.