As countries prepare for the second part of the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) on the Global Plastics Treaty in Geneva this August, Malaysian Members of Parliament (MPs) are calling on the government to take regional leadership as the current Asean chair by pushing for a strong and legally binding international plastics agreement.
To continue reading, subscribe to Eco‑Business.
There's something for everyone. We offer a range of subscription plans.
- Access our stories and receive our Insights Weekly newsletter with the free EB Member plan.
- Unlock unlimited access to our content and archive with EB Circle.
- Publish your content with EB Premium.
The call came as over 100 civil society organisations (CSOs) handed over a joint memorandum to Parliament last week, urging Malaysia to champion the ambitious treaty that addresses the full life cycle of plastics.
The memorandum, submitted by representatives from the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center), Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP), Environmental Protection Society Malaysia (EPSM), Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), Zero Waste Malaysia and Zero Waste Sabah, was received by three MPs who expressed strong support for the initiative.
Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung acknowledged that plastic pollution is not confined by national borders and described the Geneva negotiations as “a golden opportunity” for Asean to take collective action, led by Malaysia.
“Just as we do not want Malaysia to be the world’s rubbish bin, we also need to tackle plastic waste at its source and induce systemic change to eliminate single-use plastics,” he said, adding that he and his colleagues would strongly support government efforts to position Malaysia as a regional leader in plastics governance.
Malaysia had previously imported large volumes of plastic waste from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan to be processed locally. However, it has sinced tightened import controls, with all forms of plastic scrap banned from entering the country since 1 July through an amendment to its Customs Act.
Ahmad Yunus Hairi, MP for Kuala Langat, a constituency heavily affected by pollution linked to imported plastic and e-waste, stressed that plastic pollution not only contaminates land and water but also contributes to biodiversity loss and climate change.
“Much of the plastic waste sent to Malaysia has been illegally burned or dumped,” he said.
He warned that global plastic production and use is expected to increase, worsening climate risks and public health burdens unless countries act decisively.
“Protecting the health of our people and environment from the plastic crisis is no longer option, but an urgent need that calls for comprehensive action, courage and forward thinking,” Ahmad said, adding that the government must take the opportunity as Asean chair to represent the region in the upcoming international negotiation.
Civil society representatives urged Malaysia’s representatives to the INC-5.2 to advocate for a global treaty that protects human and environmental health from the harms of plastic, support a legally binding framework that caps plastic production and eliminate the use of harmful chemicals in plastics.
Their memorandum listed key recommendations such as improving product design to minimise plastic waste, stronger controls on chemical emissions and plastic leakage, better waste management through extended producer responsibility, prior informed consent for plastic waste exports, and the rejection of false solutions such as plastic-to-fuel or incineration.
Chemicals of concern in plastics
As of today, there are over 16,000 known chemicals used in various plastic applications, with more than 4,200 identified as chemicals of concern due to their persistence, ability to bioaccumulate, mobility in the environment or toxicity.
Some of these, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are classified as persistent organic pollutants because they resist degradation, remain in the environment for long periods, and can accumulate in living organisms, posing long-term risks to human health and ecosystems.
Mageswari Sangaralingam, secretary of Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), highlighted that the Global Plastics Treaty presents an opportunity to regulate hazardous chemicals used in plastics.
“Some governments say we have the Stockholm Convention, which looks into chemicals, but that only covers certain types of plastic-related chemicals. This treaty can help identify more chemicals and establish management plans to phase them out.”
She added that many of these chemicals of concern not only harm the environment but also pose serious risks to public health.
Scientific studies have linked chemicals commonly found in plastics, such as phthalates, BPA and PFAS to a range of health issues, including cancer, hormonal disruption, infertility, and developmental disorders.
Mageswari further stressed that these health impacts are often overlooked in policymaking as the government is mainly focused on the profits of certain industries.
Since 2022, countries from around the world have convened in five INC meetings to address plastic pollution across the full life cycle of plastic, from production to design, use, and disposal.
However, at the most recent meeting in Busan last year, countries could not come to an agreement on several matters, with oil-producing countries opposing proposals such as a cap on plastic production and eliminating chemicals of concern in plastics.
Wong Pui Yi from the Basel Action Network noted that Malaysia has been consistent in its interest to protect the plastics and petrochemical industries and shares its stance with oil producers.
“But we also have other industries and public health that are harmed by plastics. All of us have microplastics in our bodies and we are exposed to the chemicals in the plastics that are not spoken about in Malaysia.”
“It’s important to make it compulsory for companies to declare what chemicals they are using in their products, what their harm to people is, and which can be eliminated or replaced,” she said.
Nonetheless, she commended Malaysia’s efforts recent efforts to ban plastic imports from the US and other rich nations, as well as the new requirement of Certificates of Approval, which mandate regulatory approval for all types of plastic waste imports.
Addressing plastic waste at home
Malaysia alone generates over 1 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with only a fraction recycled effectively. The rest is either landfilled, incinerated, or leaks into the environment, including rivers and seas.
It is one of the countries with the highest plastic packaging consumption at 16.8 kilograms annually per person. Segregation of waste at source remains a major challenge due to lack of awareness and recycling infrastructure available to the public.
C4 Center’s event and projects officer, Wong Si Peng, who led the memorandum handover said Malaysia eventually needs to control plastic production to avoid issues of mounting waste that is difficult to manage.
“We want this treaty to work upstream, because if we don’t control production, we will end up with so many useless plastics that cannot be recycled and be burdened with figuring out what to do with it at the end of its life,” she said.
She clarified that CSOs are not asking the government to cap plastic production to zero but limit it to manageable levels and only produce good quality, safe plastic that can last for a long time.
Malaysia’s waste management landscape is primarily governed by the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act (Act 672). As of 2024, only eight out of Malaysia’s 14 states have implemented it.
This includes Perlis, Kedah, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The Act’s voluntary nature remains a challenge for nationwide implementation as individual states are free to decide whether the law should be adopted.
However, acting natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Johari Abdul Ghani, proposed last month that all plastic recycling companies in the country must be licenced under the ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) to enable better oversight and enforcement of laws.
He said since only 10 to 20 per cent of imported plastic waste is processed and the majority of it being dumped in Malaysian landfills, such mechanisms are helpful in tracking imported waste and prevent illegal dumping.
In doing so, he highlighted inter-agency coordination between the department of environment, national solid waste management department, MITI and customs which share different areas of jurisdiction and are involved at various stages of regulating and enforcing plastic waste imports.
