In its latest report, The Recycling Myth 2.0, Greenpeace reveals that plastic waste exports from the UK and other developed nations, illegally dumped in Malaysia, have caused widespread environmental contamination.
Heavy metals and toxic chemicals potentially harmful to human health, were found to be present in soil and water samples taken from illegal dump sites where plastic waste from the UK, some of it from household recycling collections, had been discovered in a previous investigation by Greenpeace in 2018. The samples were taken from four sites in Selangor and Kedah states, which had since been closed down and partially cleared.
The Greenpeace report highlights the long-term effects of a corrupt and broken recycling system, where exports of contaminated waste, much of it under the guise of ‘recyclable scraps’, are often dumped illegally in developing countries.