Malaysia’s plastics problem

Marine pollution: Concept image of plastic waste in the sea. The very real Great Pacific Garbage Patch, one of five such constantly shifting patches, comprises different sized plastics, including microplastics. A 2018 study predicted at least 79,000 tonnes of ocean plastics are floating inside an area of 1.6 million sq km in this garbage patch. — 123rf

PLASTIC pollution continues to plague Malaysia like a difficult-to-quit but easy-to-access opioid.

It is still a convenient utility without compare, which leads to microplastics in the ecosystem – including in our food – and illegal dumping that clogs urban drainage and sparks flash floods. But an outright ban on plastics might not be a viable long-term solution either.