Many developed countries exported their recyclable plastic in large amounts to other countries to process, Malaysia being one of them. Though we have since banned the import of plastic scrap, the official definition of plastic scraps remains vague, and the ban also did not halt unregulated or poorly regulated burning and dumping activities of plastic. It's no secret that the global plastic recycling market is in need of a major overhaul. What are the long-term effects of a broken recycling system, and what would an overhaul of this system look like? We discuss this and more with Mageswari Sangaralingam, a Senior Research Officer at the Consumers' Association of Penang, and a Freelance Researcher at Sahabat Alam Malaysia.



Image Source: Shutterstock 

Many developed countries exported their recyclable plastic in large amounts to other countries to process, Malaysia being one of them. Though we have since banned the import of plastic scrap, the official definition of plastic scraps remains vague, and the ban also did not halt unregulated or poorly regulated burning and dumping activities of plastic. It's no secret that the global plastic recycling market is in need of a major overhaul. What are the long-term effects of a broken recycling system, and what would an overhaul of this system look like? We discuss this and more with Mageswari Sangaralingam, a Senior Research Officer at the Consumers' Association of Penang, and a Freelance Researcher at Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

Image Source: Shutterstock&nbsp;

Climate change, ferocious weather and ‘the haze’ are now part our everyday lives. How are our lifestyles connected to them, and what can we do about it? What does the economy have to do with it? Earth Matters engages with activists and experts to explore our changing relationship with the planet that we only borrow from our children.

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