H.E. Rafael Daerr
Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Malaysia
H.E. Anne Varsara
Ambassador of Finland to Malaysia
Mr. Benedikt Hoffmann
Regional Representative of UN Office on Drugs and Crime for Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning and Salam Malaysia Madani.
1. I would like to thank the Unwaste project team for their invitation to address the seminar.
2. Malaysia has actively participated in the Unwaste project since 2022, and the Unwaste project has been playing a pivotal role in providing insights and actionable recommendations to address waste trafficking.
3. This project has positively fostered inter-regional cooperation, facilitate information sharing, and bridge information gaps between countries to tackle waste trafficking and to support circular economy transition. I think we can do more together.
4. Waste trafficking disrupts legitimate trade, impacts and hinders sustainability efforts and the transition to circular economy. The UNODC’s report Turning the Tide: A Look into the European Union-to-Southeast Asia Waste Trafficking Wave highlighted that ferrous metals, copper, aluminium, plastics, and paper are the most trafficked waste types globally between 2017 and 2022. Ferrous metals dominate over 50% of global imports, while non-OECD countries receive 71.1% of non-ferrous metals and 70.3% of plastic waste.
5. This waste trafficking from high-income to low- and middle-income economies persists as a significant phenomenon, despite existing control measures in both EU and Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia, alongside Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand, collectively accounted for 96.6% of ASEAN’s waste imports between 2017 and 2021. Europe, North America and other countries within Asia are consistently identified as the primary sources of origin for illegal waste shipments to Southeast Asia.
6. Back in 2018, China put in place a ban on waste imports, which resulted in the diversion of waste exports from EU to the ASEAN region. It is based on the need to address this issue that Malaysia introduced the Guidelines for the Importation of Metal Scrap and Waste Paper in January 2022 (updated in April 2024), to ensure that waste imports are free from hazardous materials and contamination.
7. This seminar is therefore important as a platform to build on previous discussions and recommendations to make that critical connection between waste trafficking and the circular economy, to develop actionable strategies for the ASEAN region.
8. In September 2024, Malaysia launched the Circular Economy Policy Framework (CEPF) for the Manufacturing Sector, which would support the development of an ecosystem that promotes transition to circular economy to achieve both sustainable and economic goals. The Framework is an action item under the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
9. The Framework covers all manufacturing sectors under the NIMP and complements existing initiatives to guide the evolution of circularity against the linear model of ‘take, make, dispose’.
10. The Framework is driven by four key themes – Circular Input, Efficient Process, Sustainable Output and Socio-economic Impact – integrating circular economy principles to reduce reliance on waste imports, increase recycling rates, and promote resource efficiency.
11. The effective and timely implementation of these initiatives is expected to rapidly enhance the circular ecosystem, address the growing challenge of maintaining natural resources, and unlock the greatest value from a mature circular industry.
12. In achieving circularity, industries and manufacturers are encouraged to rethink their practices and adopt more innovative approaches along the journey.
13. The Circular Economy Policy Framework (CEPF) aligns with national and regional priorities, including strategies to address waste trafficking by improving the availability of domestic recyclates and reduce dependency for waste import, particularly illegally imported ones. Illegal operation of recycling activities that import waste into the country are directly competing with legal recyclers, which undermines efforts to transition to circular economy.
14. Waste trafficking solutions are intertwined with circular economy adoption, including Malaysia’s approach in transitioning to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, to ensure producers are accountable for managing their waste.
15. We cannot take lightly the security aspect of waste trafficking. Less waste trafficking means a safer Malaysia, a safer ASEAN, and a safer world.
16. MITI remains committed to fostering sustainable trade and supporting Malaysia’s green transformation.
17. However, Malaysia can’t work alone. We need to engage and collaborate at the intra and interregional levels to harmonise policies, share expertise and address common challenges such as waste trafficking.
18. ASEAN will have to expedite our effort towards a circular economy and low carbon model, taking into account the different capacity of each member country. As the ASEAN chair in 2025, Malaysia will attempt to take the leading role in tackling waste trafficking at the regional and global levels.
19. It is also crucial that the source countries, especially Europe and North America, take leadership in curbing waste trafficking at source. Malaysia acknowledges the efforts put in by the European Union in this aspect and we would like to deepen collaboration with EU and other source countries to address this issue. We would like to see more forthcoming efforts by other source countries.
20. Again, let me thank the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for organising this seminar. I hereby officiate the event and look forward to reading the seminar’s recommendations. Promoting sustainable development through circular economy initiatives and combating waste trafficking is an important agenda for Malaysia and for ASEAN.