Plastic Pollution in Malaysia

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Human Writes: Malaysia rated one of the world's worst for plastic ...
Plastic Pollution At The Beach
Source: The Star

Sometimes there are things that we do not see the impact individually, but it becomes a big problem when those things are seen collectively. For example, the issue of garbage disposal, let's say a person disposes of small waste such as candy wrappers. Individually, this thing may be seen as a small thing, because the candy wrapper is not that big. Just, try to imagine there are a million people throwing away this candy wrapper, must the impact be greater?

In Malaysia, this is one of the thinking problems we are facing. Many people think that if people do something, it will not have a big impact. The fact is that when more and more people think like this, then it becomes a disaster. One of them are...

The amount of plastic-related carbon emissions in Malaysia is higher than the combined Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines

An analysis of Asia's largest plastic consumption shows Malaysians are the largest consumers of plastics, according to activists from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). This group of activists is urging the Malaysian government to limit the use of plastics and work with companies involved in recycling activities.

The WWF report shows that China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam account for 60% of the estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic that enter the oceans each year. This study focuses on the daily use of plastics, plastics that often end up at sea. Of these 6 countries - an estimated 27 million plastics used in 2016, the most recent data we can find. We hope this is the latest data so we can see - is there an improvement or not.

Globally, projections show an increase of 4 times from 2010 to 2050. This means; the sea will probably have more plastic (in terms of weight) than fish. If this thing is continued, later people will not sell fish near the market, but sell garbage.

Apart from that, the release of carbon dioxide in Malaysia (which is associated with plastic), no matter the time it is produced or burned - it has reached 860 million tonnes in 2019, higher than the combined Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines. This means that this thing is really crazy high, to the point of defeating a combination of three countries.


Malaysia: The World's Plastic Dumpster
Source: Youtube


Malaysia once again topped the chart when it became the highest country in terms of per-capita (annual) plastic packaging usage. It is estimated that every year - every Malaysian uses 16.8 kg of plastic. Second place belongs to Thailand, with 15.5 kg per person, per year.

In Asia, there are many countries with rapid economic growth and population. It causes these countries to have densely populated cities, including in cities close to the sea. Unfortunately, the garbage collection system in the area is still lagging behind, causing many problems. Finally, to facilitate the work, these residents tend to throw garbage into the sea.

After China banned the import of plastic waste in early 2018, large waste exporters such as the United States and European countries transferred their waste to other countries. Malaysia becomes one of the 'garbage dump'. 

In addition to disrupting the tourism industry, fisheries and shipping industry, plastic waste can threaten marine life and enter the human body. Well, because we really like to eat seafood. Logically, if the plastic life eats garbage, we also have the potential to eat the garbage that they eat.

A brief explanation on what garbage does to our body.
Source: Giphy

Schuldt (WWF representative) urged Malaysia and other Asian governments to review policies on the use of plastics by their people. He called on the Malaysian government to work with industry players and environmental activists to encourage businesses to use less plastic and provide funding for recycling activities. This has been done by more than 30 countries, including countries in Asia.

In this issue, the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment & Climate Change declined to comment. Garbage in Malaysia which usually accumulates at the landfill (TPA) and drifts into the sea due to weather factors. According to Schuldt, awareness campaigns are necessary to educate Malaysians on this issue.




References

BALASEGARAM, M., 2020. Human Writes: Malaysia Rated One Of The World’S Worst For Plastic Pollution. [online] The Star Online. Available at: <https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2019/01/27/plastic-waste-malaysia/> [Accessed 25 July 2020].

NST Online. 2020. Report: Malaysians Asia's Biggest Plastic Consumers | New Straits Times. [online] Available at: <https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/02/566374/report-malaysians-asias-biggest-plastic-consumers> [Accessed 25 July 2020].

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