Illegal e-waste gets one-way ticket home as Malaysia targets 1,259 containers

PORT KLANG, Aug 14 — The Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) aims to return all 1,259 containers of illegal electronic waste (e-waste) to their countries of origin by year-end.

AKPS Port Klang commander Datuk Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said the operation is being conducted in three phases of integrated enforcement, involving about 8,000 metric tonnes of seized e-waste over the past two years in collaboration with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and Port Klang Authority.

“To date, we have shipped out 255 containers. We are now in the second phase, targeting the return of 533 containers of illegal e-waste.

“The third and final phase will begin on Oct 1, targeting the remaining 578 containers. The overall target of 1,259 containers is subject to any containers still under investigation,” he told reporters at the North Port Customs building here today.

Nik Ezanee said inspections have found no attempts to re-import the banned materials, though some containers have been detected returning with other commercial goods based on authority checklist reviews.

He said scanning machines at Port Klang remain highly efficient in detecting illegal shipments, but human weaknesses in their operation still pose challenges.

He acknowledged that there are occasional gaps, but said the agency continuously trains scanning officers to perform their duties well, and AKPS never stops improving its services.

On a related note, Nik Ezanee said the large-scale operation to return illegal e-waste reinforces the government’s commitment to ensuring Malaysian ports are not used as transit points or dumping grounds for toxic waste.

He said AKPS and other enforcement agencies remain committed to tightening risk profiling and taking stern legal action against any party attempting to violate laws and international conventions. — Bernama