Plastic bags from Walmart US recycling tracked to facilities in Southeast Asia
8h •
Trashed: The Secret Life of Plastic Exports
Pua Lay Peng lives on the front lines of the global plastic pollution crisis. The 52-year-old's hometown of Jenjarom, Malaysia has been transformed in recent years by thousands of tons of imported plastic waste from the U.S. and other wealthy nations. As a result, the once quiet agricultural town she grew up in is now surrounded by dumpsites and smokestacks from plastic factories that she says pose dire health risks for her and her loved ones.
"We want to let people who send their waste to Malaysia know that we need your help," she told ABC News. "Your waste is harmful and threatens the health of my family, my children, and also destroys the future of my people, my generation."
Hidden among the tsunami of plastic waste America sent to Southeast Asia last year were three of the 19 tracking devices ABC News secured to plastic bags and dropped off at Walmart store recycling bins across the U.S. Two of those trackers ended up at plastic facilities outside of Port Klang, Malaysia, not far from Pua Lay Peng's hometown, while a third landed in Indonesia.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/plastic-bags-from-walmart-us-recycling-tracked-to-facilities-in-southeast-asia/ar-AA1nx3PG?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=06756513d1514306efd16ba5dab7fbd3&ei=37
