Let’s face it: Malaysia has a golden opportunity to become the recycling and circular economy powerhouse of Southeast Asia. But there's a roadblock that’s keeping us from fully capitalizing on it -the Basel Treaty.
This agreement, a 1989 global accord meant to prevent rich nations from dumping their toxic waste on the developing world, has shackled Malaysia’s potential in a way that’s almost as absurd as a Kancil (the animal, not the car) on a treadmill.
Sure, it sounds noble to say "Let’s not pollute the developing world with hazardous waste," but in reality, the treaty is now preventing us from leveraging e-waste in a controlled, eco-friendly way.
Here's why the dunggus in the Malaysian government must repeal or amend the Basel Treaty to allow the import of e-waste in a controlled environment.
Those who know me know my economics background so first, let’s talk numbers. Malaysia is swimming in a sea of e-waste - old phones, computers, TVs, laptops, you name it. The global volume of e-waste is growing at an alarming rate and Asia is at the center of this booming disaster.
But here’s the kicker: while countries like Japan and South Korea are thriving by efficiently recycling and reusing e-waste, Malaysia is stuck on the sidelines due to its limited ability to import and process electronic waste.
Actually, Malaysia has a ton of potential to tap into this market. With proper infrastructure and regulation, we can turn e-waste into resources like valuable metals, rare earth elements and plastics.
Rather than our usual SOP of throwing our hands up in the air and saying, "Well, that's someone else’s problem," we could be cashing in by establishing ourselves as the region’s e-waste recycling hub.
If we amend the Basel Treaty, Malaysia could import, process and recycle e-waste, creating an industry worth billions. That’s greener than just a rainforest, folks - it's money, jobs and sustainable growth.
Let’s give credit where credit is due: the treaty was designed with good intentions. In the late 80s, the global community was witnessing the rise of environmental disasters caused by the illegal dumping of toxic waste in developing countries. The treaty sought to prevent that, and in theory it was a good idea.
But here’s the catch: in its current form, it’s so restrictive that it ties Malaysia’s hands when it comes to processing e-waste in a responsible, regulated manner.
The treaty prohibits the import of hazardous waste ie any form of e-waste that is deemed "hazardous" based on its contents. The problem? Everything has some trace of “hazardous” material in it.
Lead in old phones? Yup. Mercury in certain screens? Sure. Arsenic in some electronic components? Definitely. But that doesn’t mean we need to shove all that waste into a landfill, let it rot in some foreign backyard or heaven forbid burn it.
The Malaysian government is currently stuck in a limbo between trying to stay Basel-compliant and trying to manage the e-waste problem responsibly.
Guess what? We’re losing out. We need to acknowledge that e-waste is not the boogeyman, it’s a resource waiting to be transformed. By creating a controlled, transparent and regulated environment, Malaysia can turn e-waste into revenue, not disaster.
The circular economy is the future and
Malaysia is sitting on the front row of the most incredible show no one has
bothered to watch yet.
If Malaysia were to amend or repeal the Basel Treaty’s restrictions on e-waste, we would not only open the floodgates to massive economic benefits but also establish ourselves as environmental champions.
Think about it: more e-waste would come in for processing, which would give us access to precious metals like gold, silver and copper, resources that are increasingly scarce. In short, we’d be turning sampah into permata.
More e-waste processing also means more jobs in the green tech economy. Malaysians could work in everything from waste sorting and electronics repair to advanced recycling operations.
And the best part? We wouldn’t need to import more raw materials or engage in destructive mining practices. We’d be recycling, not just reusing and that’s a huge win for sustainability.
