Illustrative image (Photo: AFP/VNA)Jakarta (VNA) - Dozensof shipping containers full of waste will be returned to developed countries,Indonesia said on July 2, as Southeast Asian nations increasingly rejectserving as dumping grounds for international trash.
The 49 containers were loaded with a combination of garbage,plastic waste and hazardous materials in violation of import rules, accordingto customs officials on Batam island.
The waste came from the US, Australia, France, Germany and HongKong (China), he added.
Last month, Jakarta returned five containers of waste to the US.
China's decision in 2018 to ban imports of foreign plastic wastethrew global recycling into chaos, leaving developed nations struggling to findplaces to send their waste.
Huge quantities of rubbish have since been redirected toSoutheast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In May, neighbouring Malaysia vowed to ship back hundreds oftonnes of plastic waste.
The Philippines also returned about 69 containers of rubbishback to Canada last month.
Around 300 million tonnes of plastics are produced every year,according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), with much of it ending up inlandfills or polluting the seas, in what has become a growing internationalcrisis.-VNA
VNA
