(Kuala Lumpur, 27th) A survey shows that Malaysia has become the most favored 'dumping ground' for major US electronic waste recyclers.
According to the latest investigative report released on Thursday (October 23) by Basel Action Network, an environmental group headquartered in Seattle, USA, from January 2023 to February this year, Malaysia imported over 131,000 tonnes of e-waste from the US, estimated to account for about 75% of the US's total e-waste exports of 169,497 tonnes during the same period.
The report states that Malaysia's import volume far exceeds Indonesia's 11,745 tonnes and Thailand's 7,974 tonnes, making it the main recipient of US e-waste. It is estimated that during the survey period, US e-waste shipped to Malaysia may account for nearly 6% of the total trade volume between the two countries, indicating the astonishing scale of this 'toxic trade.'
Basel Action Network's investigation focused on 10 major US-based e-waste brokering companies. Using multiple methods to collect evidence of e-waste trade—including analyzing business data, using independent GPS tracking, and on-site observation—they found these companies play a key role in driving large-scale cross-border exports of potentially hazardous e-waste.
During January 2023 to February this year, these 10 companies shipped over 10,000 containers of e-waste—about 169,000 tonnes in total—worth more than US$1 billion (approximately RM4.22 billion). According to the investigation, most shipments to Malaysia passed through California and Texas ports, with smaller amounts going to Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The report states that although Malaysia has tightened import controls over e-waste in 2024, the volume of US exports remained high during the survey period.
Wong Pui Yi (transliteration), Basel Action Network's Malaysia-based researcher, said smuggling of e-waste has caused great harm to Malaysia. 'Smugglers and illegal recyclers openly violate Malaysian laws under the guise of recycling. For profit, they pollute our water, air, and soil, cause illness to residents, and foster corruption.'
'Malaysia is paying a heavy price... It is extremely costly to recycle the world's waste for others. Americans should recycle their old electronics and plastics in their own country.'
Malaysia is a party to the Basel Convention, which was established to control the cross-border movement of hazardous waste, but this has evidently not effectively curbed the influx of electronic waste. According to official data released in May this year, from 2018 to this February, authorities successfully intercepted 433 containers of e-waste imported from abroad and returned them to their countries of origin.
Electronic waste includes discarded mobile phones, tablets, computers, and other devices. While they contain valuable materials, they also contain toxic metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury. Some studies estimate that the global growth rate of electronic waste is five times the speed of recycling, owing to the increasingly rapid upgrading of electronic products.
According to the latest investigative report released on Thursday (October 23) by Basel Action Network, an environmental group headquartered in Seattle, USA, from January 2023 to February this year, Malaysia imported over 131,000 tonnes of e-waste from the US, estimated to account for about 75% of the US's total e-waste exports of 169,497 tonnes during the same period.
The report states that Malaysia's import volume far exceeds Indonesia's 11,745 tonnes and Thailand's 7,974 tonnes, making it the main recipient of US e-waste. It is estimated that during the survey period, US e-waste shipped to Malaysia may account for nearly 6% of the total trade volume between the two countries, indicating the astonishing scale of this 'toxic trade.'
Basel Action Network's investigation focused on 10 major US-based e-waste brokering companies. Using multiple methods to collect evidence of e-waste trade—including analyzing business data, using independent GPS tracking, and on-site observation—they found these companies play a key role in driving large-scale cross-border exports of potentially hazardous e-waste.
During January 2023 to February this year, these 10 companies shipped over 10,000 containers of e-waste—about 169,000 tonnes in total—worth more than US$1 billion (approximately RM4.22 billion). According to the investigation, most shipments to Malaysia passed through California and Texas ports, with smaller amounts going to Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The report states that although Malaysia has tightened import controls over e-waste in 2024, the volume of US exports remained high during the survey period.
Wong Pui Yi (transliteration), Basel Action Network's Malaysia-based researcher, said smuggling of e-waste has caused great harm to Malaysia. 'Smugglers and illegal recyclers openly violate Malaysian laws under the guise of recycling. For profit, they pollute our water, air, and soil, cause illness to residents, and foster corruption.'
'Malaysia is paying a heavy price... It is extremely costly to recycle the world's waste for others. Americans should recycle their old electronics and plastics in their own country.'
Malaysia is a party to the Basel Convention, which was established to control the cross-border movement of hazardous waste, but this has evidently not effectively curbed the influx of electronic waste. According to official data released in May this year, from 2018 to this February, authorities successfully intercepted 433 containers of e-waste imported from abroad and returned them to their countries of origin.
Electronic waste includes discarded mobile phones, tablets, computers, and other devices. While they contain valuable materials, they also contain toxic metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury. Some studies estimate that the global growth rate of electronic waste is five times the speed of recycling, owing to the increasingly rapid upgrading of electronic products.