Malaysia is said to have announced a permanent ban on plastic waste imports

BIR has received news that Malaysia has announced a permanent ban on the import of plastic waste as from Friday 26 October 2018.

According to an article by the Malaysian news service The Star, Ms. Zuraida Kamaruddin, Housing and Local Government Minister, announced the permanent ban of plastic waste import and also that Malaysia would be phasing out the import of other types of plastic within three years.

The decision was made in a meeting last Friday between Malaysia’s Ministry of Housing and Local Government and the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change, the Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

Prior to this, the Malaysian government had imposed a three-month freeze on the issuance of approved permits (AP) for the import of plastic waste.

India rumoured to increase import duties on non-ferrous scrap

According to a recently published article on the website of The Business Standard, the Government of India might be considering raising import duties for non-ferrous metal scrap to 7.5-10 per cent from the existing 2.5 per cent.

BIR will keep monitoring both issues and keep its members informed.