Page 46 - Plastics News June 2019

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Tiny E.Timor to become world's No more bottled water, plastic-

first plastic-neutral nation wrapped food in Malaysia

ast Timor is set to become the world’s first country to he Malaysian government
Erecycle all its plastic waste after it teamed up with Twill no longer provide
Australian researchers to build a revolutionary recycling drinking water in plastic
plant. The $40-million plant will ensure that no plastic, bottles or food wrapped
once used in the Southeast Asian nation, would become in plastic at its events, in
waste, but would instead be turned into new products Dili a bid to cut down single-
said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with use disposable plastics.
Australia’s Mura Technology to establish a non-profit called Ministry of Energy, Science,
RESPECT that will run the plastic recycling plant, expected Technology, Environment
and Climate Change (Mestecc) deputy secretary-
general Nagulendran Kangayatkarasu said this is part
of its roadmap to reduce public reliance on single-use
plastics."It is encouraging that the chief secretary has
issued a circular that all government events should
have no single-use disposable plastics and this includes
mineral water and plastic wrappings (for food)," he
said. The circular issued in March states that Malaysia
intends to be "zero single-use plastic" by 2030.
Nagulendran said the first phase of the roadmap
involves tackling the use of single-use plastic bags and
to launch by the end of 2020. “This is a small country straws, unless required for medical purposes.Mestecc
where we can make a statement - making the whole has conducted workshops with state governments
country the first to be plastic neutral, in a region where to encourage all states to charge consumers 20 sen
there is the largest pollution of marine life,” said Thomas per single-use plastic bag, with the fund to go to
Maschmeyer, co-inventor of the recycling technology to government efforts to clean the environment. "It is
be used in the new plant. “Plastic - if you don’t dispose about a change of mindset... it will be inconvenient
of it well - is a terrible thing (but) if you can dispose of it at first but it can be done," he said. The ministry has
well, it’s a great thing,” Maschmeyer told the Thomson also disbursed grants for research and development of
Reuters Foundation by phone. Impoverished East Timor, a biodegradable resin to replace single-use plastics. "By
with a population of just 1.3 million, generates about 70 the second phase in 2020, we hope to have effective
tonnes of plastic waste each day according to government biodegradable products for the public (to replace
data, most of which is collected from beaches and urban single-use plastic)," said Nagulendran. Malaysia's war
areas, then burned in the open Maschmeyer said the new against single-use plastic has intensified following a
plant would use chemical technology to quickly turns spike in imports of plastic waste into the country. This
plastic waste into liquid or gas without adding mineral is after China banned such imports in 2018. China's
oil, which no other recycler can do as well. “In our case recent move to ban foreign plastic trash imports has
we can chemically recycle it and put it back into the bolstered the plastic recyclers business in the Southeast
circular economy”, he added. Run at no cost to Asia’s Asia, as the Western nations are looking to export more
youngest democracy, all profits will go towards supporting plastic waste to the region followed the ban. Heng Hiap
community projects and waste collectors in East Timor, Industries, a Malaysian recycling company, has seen
which must first find funding to build the recycling facility. its year-to-date handling waste volume surged by 28
“This is an exciting collaboration for us,” said Demetrio do percent year-on-year, as a result of the ban, according
Amaral de Carvalho, East Timor’s environment secretary.
to its founder and chief executive officer Seah Kian Hoe.

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