Malaysia says no to e-waste dumping but can its ban stop a global trade?

Malaysia has drawn a hard line against becoming a dumping ground for the world’s toxic scrap, but enforcing that pledge means sifting through millions of shipping containers each year – a daunting challenge shared by ports across Southeast Asia. Last week, Kuala Lumpur imposed an immediate ban on e-waste imports, reclassifying the material under an “absolute prohibition” and declaring the country would not be a “dumping ground” for the world’s waste, in an effort to curb a trade that often blurs...

By Ushar Daniele