Facility seen polluting Malaysian river part of anti-pollution program promoted by US plastics industry

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Industry groups want to include Operation Clean Sweep in the UN Plastics Treaty.

Facility seen polluting Malaysian river part of anti-pollution program promoted by US plastics industryWaste-water being discharged from a Malaysian plastic manufacturing facility where a plastic bag tracker deployed by ABC News last pinged. The discharge empties into a drainage ditch that leads directly to a nearby river.

Local fisherman Saravanan Kumar told ABC News that the facility where a plastic bag tracker is regularly discharging plastic laden waste water into the river his family has relied on for generations."It is sad because the life in the water died and we are now afraid to eat fish that used to be delicious. We are afraid that we may hurt our kids by eating it," he told ABC News.

"Plastics improve the quality of life. And, when used and disposed of responsibly, play a major role in ensuring a more sustainable world," the statement further said. In an interview with ABC News, State Department Undersecretary Jose Fernandez, the top Biden administration official for the U.S. delegation, told ABC News they were "not necessarily" willing to commit to limiting plastics production.“That's not going to get you the kind of universal membership in an agreement that we're aiming for,” Fernandez said.

The voluntary individualized structure Fernandez described is similar to positions outlined by plastics industry groups seeking to prevent mandatory production cuts across all nations, and who instead encourage the treaty to adopt voluntary programs, such as Operation Clean Sweep. One of the 19 tracking devices deployed at a Walmart recycling bins around the country – this one in Wichita, Kansas – last pinged from the Malaysian facility next to the Langat River. In addition to pollution concerns, the facility also does not appear to have an import license, according to a 2023 list of license holders obtained by ABC News from a Malaysian parliament member.

 

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