PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has issued a permanent ban on the import of plastic waste effective Friday (Oct 26), says Zuraida Kamaruddin.

The Housing and Local Government Minister said the country would also be phasing out the import of other types of plastic within three years.

The decision was made in a meeting Friday between Zuraida's ministry and the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change; Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources; and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

The government had prior to this imposed a three-month freeze on the issuance of approved permits (AP) for the import of plastic waste.

The decision came after it was widely shared on social media that Malaysia had become a dumping ground for plastic waste from developed countries.