GEORGE TOWN: Malaysia will insist that importers who bring in plastic waste bear the costs of sending the items back to their places of origin.
Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Yeo Bee Yin (pix) said this is part of the negotiations initiated by the ministry with the foreign embassies and high commissions as well as importers and local agents. They have in negotiations over the last three months.
Yeo also said contractors must also be held liable for the holding charges while the cargoes remain unloaded at the Malaysians ports.
“They were the ones who brought it here (illegally) and it does not make sense that we must pay for the costs of sending it back. We are responsible for our environment,“ she said.
Yeo said this after attending the annual Penang International Green Conference and Exhibition which was officiated by state Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today.
She said her ministry is in discussions with Penang over the possible rise in sea tides following the intense melting of the glaciers, blamed on the global warming phenomenon which has affected every nation.
