France agrees to take back 43 illegal waste containers from Malaysia

Malaysia has shipped 43 illegal plastic waste containers back to France as part of a crackdown on illegal trafficking of waste, the two governments said in a joint statement yesterday.

The southeast Asian nation last year became the world’s main destination for plastic waste after a Chinese ban on imports of plastic waste disrupted the flow of more than 7 million tonnes of trash annually.

The company responsible for shipping the containers has been identified and fined 192,000 euros ($212,793.60), the statement added.