Dramatic Surge in Plastic Pollution Seen in Southeast Asian Countries

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Southeast Asian countries reported huge surge in plastic pollution during the recent months. The countries that are most affected include Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The spike in home delivery of food and other items, due to people being forced to sit at home on account of Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the governments of various countries, has led to increased consumption of disposable items. At the same time, recycling services have taken a back seat, thereby resulting in accumulation of harmful waste including single-use plastic packaging. Moreover, these countries continue to be dumping sites for world’s waste, especially after China implemented tough import monitoring system and heightened purity standards.

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In accordance with the statistics published by the Malaysian Environment and Water Ministry, the volume of medical waste in the country surged higher by 27% month-on-month in March this year. The increase in April and May stood at 31.5% and 24.6% respectively. There has been a tremendous rise in plastic waste generated by online food delivery and e-commerce services. Also, plastic and medical waste is reportedly polluting rivers in Indonesia too.