Malaysia tightens its policy on importing waste plastics, to be implemented on July 1st!
author: CPRRA
2025-06-30
Starting from July 1, 2025, Malaysia will implement strict restrictions on the import of waste plastics. This policy adjustment originates from the Customs (Prohibition of Import) (Revised) Act 2025, aimed at regulating the import of waste plastics, reducing environmental pollution, and promoting the upgrading of the domestic plastic recycling industry.
1.Key points of the new regulations
The revised customs regulations in Malaysia clearly stipulate that the import of waste plastics is prohibited without the approval of the SIRIM agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry or on its behalf.
Imports are limited to countries that have ratified the Basel Convention or have trade agreements with Malaysia. Including Australia, Chile, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Türkiye and other countries, as well as members of the ASEAN Free Trade Area. These countries still need to comply with the Basel Convention standards and other relevant guidelines when importing.
The new regulations will prohibit countries such as the United States, East Timor, Fiji, Haiti, San Marino, and South Sudan from exporting plastic waste to Malaysia. In 2024, the United States exported approximately 35000 tons of plastic waste to Malaysia, ranking fifth among exporting countries.
2.Importer requirements
Qualified importers must apply for an approval certificate from SIRIM. SIRIM only issues certificates to manufacturers who hold valid manufacturing licenses or are exempted from such licenses by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry.
Manufacturers must also have internal waste management facilities or standard recycling processes to handle imported materials. SIRIM will conduct audits and inspections to verify raw material quotas, maximum production capacity, and actual production capacity.
3.Acceptance standards for waste plastics
The waste plastic imported into Malaysia must be recyclable and cannot come from landfills.
The purity requirement for waste is extremely high, reaching at least 99.5% homogeneity, which means it must be a single polymer type.
Only when the mixed waste of polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polypropylene (PP) is sent for separate recycling, will the mixed waste be accepted.
The proportion of non plastic pollutants (such as wood, paper, or metal) in imported waste shall not exceed 2%, and a zero tolerance policy shall be implemented for any food, oil, or electronic waste mixed in.
4.Non compliant handling
If the relevant parties fail to comply with the guidelines, they will face the penalty of suspending imports and must return the goods to the country of origin, with the importer bearing the related costs.
SIRIM has the right to disqualify manufacturers who have committed two or more repeated violations from submitting approval certificate applications in the future. Before shipment in the country of origin, waste plastics must be inspected by a foreign inspection agency or material recycling facility recognized by SIRIM.
5.Global background and challenges
This policy is expected to significantly reduce plastic pollution within Malaysia and promote the development of the local plastic recycling industry. However, this may also have economic impacts on countries that rely on exporting plastic waste to Malaysia, especially those that have not yet established effective domestic recycling facilities.
Malaysia's neighboring countries Thailand and Indonesia also plan to ban the import of plastic waste by 2025, but there are doubts about the implementation of these bans, as data shows that plastic waste still enters these countries through channels such as paper waste imports.
In recent years, Europe's exports of waste plastics to non OECD countries have increased. Although the Basel Convention has updated its rules on global plastic waste exports, such as prohibiting the EU from exporting plastic waste to non OECD countries (unless it is clean waste for recycling), the degree of compliance with these rules at the receiving end is difficult to assess. There is evidence to suggest that a large amount of plastic waste used for recycling is ultimately incinerated, landfilled, or discarded in the natural environment. Starting from 2026, the EU plans to further ban the export of non hazardous plastic waste to non OECD countries.
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