‘The world’s dumping ground’: The shocking reality of where our ‘recyclables’ end up

The recycling industry has long been considered one that goes hand-in-hand with protecting our planet and the path to a greener future.

In fact, we at SunSkips are passionate about recycling and are always investing in new methods for diverting as much waste as possible from landfill.

But a dark side to the industry has come to light in the last few years after a huge shift in the global recycling ecosystem.

Thousands of tonnes of illegally imported waste from wealthy countries is being dumped in the backyards of poorer countries – and it’s taking years to have it sent back.

In many cases, the waste has been incorrectly labelled as “recyclable” before being shipped off to countries that only discover how little they can actually process once it’s in their lap.

And so far, there’s been little in the way of a solution…

Tunisia’s unwanted gift from Italy

One recent incident concerns an attempt to offload some 200 shipping containers of illegal waste from Italy into Tunisia’s backyard.

Residents of Serre – a town in southern Italy – are furious now the boatload of waste is back on their shores after Tunisia finally managed to return it.

The fate of the 6,000 tonnes of waste – which was held up in Tunisian customs for two years due to it being mislabeled as recycling when it was actually household and medical waste – is still uncertain. It currently sits in the Italian village of Persano, right next to a nature sanctuary.

Italian waste treatment company Sviluppo Risorse Ambientali (S.R.A) made the international deal, which has led to a slew of corruption investigations involving Tunisian customs officers and former environment minister Mustapha Aroui (who was later stripped of his role and arrested for his involvement).

Serre Mayor Franco Mannella, who supports residents in their peaceful protests, told La Republica, “We don’t want the waste, and we’ll oppose it by any means.”

While the waste is posing problems for the innocent Italians who are now stuck with it, the story is a win for Tunisia, which successfully blocked its entry. But sadly, there are many cases of “recyclable” waste that goes far further than customs…

Malaysia’s plastic dumping ground

Large landfill site in Indonesia, a country that has also been receiving illegally imported waste

Corrupt businesses in Malaysia have been importing waste and simply burning it near populated areas, creating incredibly dangerous health and safety problems for locals, who have complained about headaches, lethargy, breathing problems and skin irritations.

The country has very quickly become the world’s biggest importer of plastic waste, but unfortunately, it arrives so badly mixed and contaminated that only around 30% of it is useful.

In 2018, the amount of plastic imported into Malaysia from the United States alone almost doubled, according to Resource Recycling.

Greenpeace Malaysia campaigner Heng Kiah Chun told HuffPost, “America and other wealthy nations are sweeping their waste to Malaysia and other countries.

“Southeast Asia shouldn’t be the world’s dumping ground.”

MORE: Why you should care about SunSkips’ commitment to sustainable waste management

Malaysian authorities have started to take action, shutting down more than 130 illegal plastic “recycling” plants, drawing up new legislation and appealing for protests.

Meanwhile, other countries are discovering seriously hazardous illegal waste masquerading as recyclable materials…

UK gets gruesome medical waste back from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka successfully sent the last of 263 containers of illegal waste back to the UK this year, more than three years after it arrived.

It was labelled as used mattresses, carpets and rugs, from which recyclable materials can be extracted.

But while the containers did include the recyclable materials stated, they were also packed with medical waste (including some rather horrific bits and pieces) and no evidence of the importer’s capacity for recycling could be found.

Authorities were able to return the waste on the grounds that it didn’t conform to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

After agreeing to recall the illegal waste, the UK’s Environment Agency said in a statement, “The UK is committed to tackling illegal waste exports. Individuals found to be exporting incorrectly described waste can be punished with a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine.”

So why the sudden increase in illegally dumped waste abroad? It would appear that the main catalyst for the surge in so many importers welcoming the world’s waste with open arms is simply that the previous big player dropped out of the game.

China bans recycling imports

China announced it would no longer be importing 24 categories of waste as of January 2018, leaving the market wide open for other countries that aren’t as equipped to process it.

The US, UK, Germany, Japan, and Australia’s waste has since been redirected to other South Asian countries, who are now starting to realise the size of the problem.

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The decision for China to bow out was made due to lower demand for materials and higher labour costs, but also for the very same environmental impacts that countries like Tunisia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka are suffering.

The 2014 documentary film Plastic China is also thought to have played a part in the country’s changing attitudes to importing foreign recycling.

Another big reason for the high levels of waste exports is empty shipping containers. When goods are imported into the west from Asia, it makes sense from an economic perspective to make the most of the return journey, and with few exports going in that direction, waste was the obvious solution.

But it’s also creating a huge blind spot for customs officials and regulators who are struggling to enforce such massive operations.

Who’s to blame?

The practice of wealthier nations sending waste to developing countries looking for alternative sources of income is getting out of hand.

Primary sources of illegally dumped plastic waste aren’t usually hard to determine – you’ve only got to look at the brightly coloured brands that probably wish they weren’t so instantly recognisable.

In the legal sense, the blame lies with importers looking for a quick buck but really don’t have the resources to recycle effectively, as well as the exporters that are either ignorant or happy to turn a blind eye to get the waste off their hands cheaply.

On top of the victims living in the areas affected, this practice is massively undermining the efforts of individuals to separate and clean their recyclable waste. People expect their recyclable materials to be put to good use and not used as a smokescreen for creating yet more landfills abroad.

Exporting recyclables is only a temporary fix. Wealthy nations need to focus on a circular economy for waste that doesn’t pass the bill onto developing countries.

Professional waste management companies don’t mislabel their waste. Check your skip hire and waste management providers hold valid waste carrier licences and do a quick Google search to make sure they aren’t on the hook for any dodgy practices.