Pua Lay Peng is intimately acquainted with the devastating impact of the global plastic pollution crisis. Residing in Jenjarom, Malaysia, this 52-year-old has witnessed her hometown undergo a profound transformation due to the influx of thousands of tons of plastic waste from affluent nations like the U.S. Consequently, the serene agricultural community she once called home is now encircled by dumping grounds and belching smokestacks from plastic factories, which she claims pose severe health hazards to herself and her dear ones.
“We are reaching out to those who send their waste to Malaysia to understand the urgent need for your assistance,” she passionately expressed to ABC News. “The waste you send poses significant harm, endangering the well-being of my family, including my children, and also jeopardizes the future of my community, my generation.”
Among the massive amount of plastic waste that America exported to Southeast Asia in the previous year, ABC News discreetly placed 19 tracking devices on plastic bags and left them at recycling bins in Walmart stores throughout the country. Out of those trackers, two were discovered at plastic facilities near Pua Lay Peng’s hometown in Port Klang, Malaysia, while another one was found in Indonesia.
According to Judith Enck, the president of the anti-plastic pollution project Beyond Plastics and a former Environmental Protection Agency administrator, it is not responsible for waste companies and local governments in the United States to export plastic waste to other countries. Enck emphasizes that this practice is causing significant harm, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Probing the international plastic waste trade
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Originally used as a crucial component of a groundbreaking study on America’s plastic recycling system, these three trackers now provide a unique opportunity to gain insight into the secretive and contentious operations of the global plastic waste trade.
Over a year and a half ago, ABC News and its affiliated and owned stations embarked on an investigation. They attached 46 digital tracking devices to plastic bags and placed them in drop-off recycling bins at Walmart and Target stores in 10 states. ABC News diligently monitored the trackers for several months and verified the locations they pinged from to ensure that they had not been identified as contamination during their journey. Surprisingly, the majority of the trackers did not ping from plastic bag recycling facilities, but instead ended up in landfills or incinerators.
Only four trackers pinged from a U.S. facility that claimed to be involved in plastic bag recycling. However, after conducting public records requests and further research, it has been uncovered that all four of these facilities most likely disposed of the plastic bags in the U.S. or shipped them overseas. Despite this discovery, none of the facilities were willing to disclose the exact destinations of the bags to ABC News.
Exporting plastic waste, especially to poorer countries, has sparked controversy. Critics argue that this practice is a form of “waste colonialism.” The United Nations has also expressed concerns, labeling it as “highly susceptible to corruption.” To address these issues, the international community has taken action through the 2019 Basel Convention’s Amendments on Plastic Waste. These amendments impose stringent regulations on the shipment of plastic waste across borders.
The United States, one of the largest producers of plastic globally, is among five countries recognized by the United Nations that have declined to participate in the agreement. As a result, the U.S. continues to export plastic waste overseas with minimal supervision. An analysis conducted by ABC News, using data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, reveals that over 600,000 metric tons of plastic waste have been dispatched from U.S. ports to various countries under the guise of “recycling” since 2020.
A plastic bag’s journey from New York to Indonesia
ABC News sent its first plastic bag tracker overseas by dropping it into a plastic bag recycling bin at a Walmart in Kingston, New York. The tracker was later traced to a recycling facility in New Jersey that is known to export plastic waste internationally. However, there was a gap of almost three months without any updates until the tracker finally pinged from Batam, Indonesia, which is home to three plastic facilities closely associated with each other. Unfortunately, after this last ping, the tracker went silent and its whereabouts remain unknown.
According to local media reports, the plastic facilities near the location where ABC News’ plastic bag tracker last pinged have been at the center of several controversies. In 2020, Indonesian authorities were investigating two of these facilities for illegally disposing of wastewater filled with plastic into the drainage ditches situated directly behind them. Furthermore, there have been multiple reports highlighting the alleged presence of unsafe working conditions and exploitative labor practices at these facilities.
During a recent visit by ABC News, the ditches where the alleged dumping took place were observed to be covered in shredded plastic, which had coated numerous leaves and blades of grass.
ABC News’ request for comment went unanswered by the Indonesian facilities.
The Malaysia trackers
ABC News deployed two additional plastic bag trackers, both of which last pinged from Malaysia. Malaysia has become a prominent destination for exported plastic waste following China’s ban on the material in 2018.
According to Pua Lay Peng, many recyclers from China have come to Malaysia and discovered that it is an ideal location to operate their illegal factories.
Pua and her team at the Kuala Langat Environmental Action Association are highly experienced in monitoring and reporting complaints against plastic facilities that are causing pollution. They have successfully managed to shut down numerous illegal recycling centers throughout the years, despite facing death threats.
“I made the decision to fight until the end,” she expressed with determination. “If I don’t take a stand and fight, the consequences will surely result in the loss of my loved ones, my friends. It’s only a matter of time. However, if I rise up and fight, there is a glimmer of hope.”
One of the ABC News trackers was first used at a Walmart in Wichita, Kansas, and it was last detected near a plastics facility located next to the Langat River, not far from Pua Lay Peng’s hometown in Malaysia. According to a list provided by a Malaysian parliament member in 2023, the facility does not seem to have a permit to import plastic waste.
According to Pua Lay Peng, the presence of trackers installed by ABC suggests that smuggling is taking place. She points out that despite the lack of an import permit, waste is being brought in from overseas sources.
According to a recent U.N. report on illegal waste trading in Southeast Asia, “the primary tactics for the illegal shipments” include missing licenses or permits, smuggling, and lack of valid documentation. Although it is unclear how the ABC News tracker ended up at the facility, Pua expresses concern over the situation.
She expressed her concern, stating, “This serves as evidence of my worries, as it is clear that this is indeed occurring, and the situation is quite grave.”
The tracker pinged from a plastics facility located along the riverside in Malaysia. This facility specializes in manufacturing plastic bags, and they sometimes use recycled content in their production process. Despite presenting themselves as a responsible corporation dedicated to environmental protection, ABC News has discovered multiple discharge canals originating from the facility. These canals seem to be directly dumping wastewater containing plastic into the neighboring Langat River.
“We used to witness them releasing it every two days,” said Saravanan Kumar, a member of a fishing family with a long history along the Langat river. “Sometimes, we could see it all – the plastics and everything. There is a significant amount of plastic floating around. It is clearly causing harm to the fish’s source of food,” he expressed concern.
According to Kumar, the pollution caused by the facility has greatly affected the river that fishermen like him relied on for their livelihood.
“It’s really heartbreaking to see how the aquatic life has been decimated, and now we’re even afraid to consume the once delectable fish. The fear of potentially harming our children through its consumption is truly disheartening,” he expressed to ABC News.
Despite numerous requests for comment, the facility failed to respond to inquiries from ABC News.
“We have a broken system,” she stated in an interview with ABC News, emphasizing the limitations of our waste management capabilities.
They wrote that severe consequences will be faced by anyone found guilty of misconduct following the conclusion of the investigation.
Tracking the plastics highways of the high seas
According to an analysis conducted by ABC News, the transportation of plastic waste is not only contributing to the problem of plastics pollution but also causing a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The study, which utilized shipping data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, estimated that the fuel used for shipping plastic waste alone has resulted in over 100,000 metric tons of CO2-equivalent climate-warming emissions being released into the atmosphere in the past three years.
The emissions from that amount of fuel are equivalent to what more than 23,000 passenger vehicles produce in a year. To offset those emissions, it would require over 1.7 million tree seedlings to be grown for a period of 10 years.
Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics emphasized the importance of collaboration with commercial shipping companies in combating the issue of plastic exports. According to Enck, these companies have the power to make a significant impact by discontinuing the transportation of plastic waste. In 2021, environmental organizations, including Beyond Plastics, called on shipping companies to take a stand and prohibit the exportation of plastic waste.
CMA-CGM was the only major shipping company to respond to the call by making a voluntary public pledge to completely halt the transportation of plastic waste on their ships from June 2022.
“We currently have a staggering 12 million tons of plastic waste polluting our oceans,” shared Peter Levesque, the former president of CMA-CGM North America, during an interview with ABC News. Levesque further acknowledged the severity of the situation, stating, “It is evident that we are facing a significant problem. The real concern is whether we are inadvertently contributing to this problem in any capacity. And the answer is quite possibly.”
CMA-CGM, despite their promise to stop, has continued to transport numerous shipments containing thousands of tons of plastic waste, as revealed by shipping data provided to ABC News by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
When presented with the data, Levesque responded by stating, “That’s something we’d have to investigate.” He acknowledged that there is no physical inspection of the container’s contents, unless customs decides to hold it for any reason. Therefore, a level of trust is required, along with reliance on the documentation provided.
CMA-CGM clarified to ABC News that the majority of the shipments identified as plastic waste by S&P Global Market Intelligence were actually labeled differently by their customers in CMA-CGM’s internal booking system. S&P Global Market Intelligence relies on raw descriptions obtained from customs authorities to assign codes.
After consulting with various experts and carefully examining the S&P data, ABC News has discovered that some of CMA-CGM’s customers or their representatives may be deceiving the company. It appears that the company has transported a minimum of 350 shipments of plastic waste within the 18 months following their commitment to cease such activities. The majority of these shipments were destined for Malaysia.
By comparing the times and locations provided by two of our plastic bag trackers, an ABC News analysis concluded that it is highly probable that those two trackers were part of the shipments.
CMA-CGM has chosen not to provide a comment on the analysis conducted by ABC News. However, the company has previously made a commitment that any false declarations in relation to its plastic waste ban “will result in the incriminated entity being blacklisted.”
According to a recent U.N. report on the waste trade, there is a troubling trend of waste exporters deceiving shipping companies about the contents of their shipments. This deceptive practice is utilized to circumvent regulations. Additionally, governments often neglect to address this issue and turn a blind eye to the smuggling of plastic waste into countries with lax border enforcement.
Seeking answers from America’s largest retailer
At our company, we are committed to making ethical choices. Although our bag recycling program may not be flawless, it offers recycling opportunities to millions of customers nationwide. According to the companies we partner with, the majority of the mixed recycling materials we provide, including thousands of tons of plastic bags, are suitable for recycling. However, it’s important to note that contaminated materials, such as ABC’s trackers, cannot be recycled as they can be considered contaminants in the bag recycling process.
“We hold high standards for the companies we partner with and are dedicated to consistently enhancing our recycling and waste reduction initiatives,” the statement emphasized. “As an illustration, we recently renegotiated contracts that explicitly mandate these companies to guarantee and demonstrate that all eligible materials collected through our program are recycled to the best of their ability.”
