PUTRAJAYA — The Department of Environment (DOE) has taken action against 44 illegal electronic waste (e-waste) processing factories as of Dec 31, last year, said the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
Eight plants were closed and 36 are currently facing prosecution under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (EQA 1974), he said in a statement today.
E-waste factories found to have processed bullet casings illegally also face action under a Equipment Operation Detention order under the Act on the use of machines without any control devices.
Other sections of the EQA are also being used to prosecute the factories, including for storing scheduled waste without a license from DOE, failure to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment Report to the DOE, and for placing scheduled waste without obtaining any prior approval from the Director-General of Environment.
Nik Nazmi said the DOE is committed to ensuring that Malaysia does not become a transit or disposal site for e-waste from developed countries in line with the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
It stipulates that any cross-border movement of scheduled waste such as e-waste requires prior approval before transit, transhipment, import and export activities are carried out.
To control the movement of e-waste through the country’s main entry points, the Basel Convention has stipulated that e-waste that crosses borders must go through the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure and imports that fail to comply with the procedure are categorised as illegal shipments under Article 9.
Article 9 of the Basel Convention also states that exporting countries that do not obtain approval from the importing country for shipments categorised scheduled waste must take back the merchandise within 30 days.
“Therefore, strict action will be taken against any importer who fails to comply with the rules and laws that have been set,” said Nik Nazmi – February 18, 2025