Malaysia Plastics Sustainability Roadmap 2021 - 2030.

This Malaysia Plastics Sustainability Roadmap, 2021-2030 is a nationwide sectoral document aiming at (i) outlining strategies and action plans to achieve greater plastic circularity levels; (ii) representing a guidance policy to all stakeholders in ensuring plastic sustainability along the value chain guided by the concept of circularity as well as being part of the solution towards a sustainable environment; (iii) informing all stakeholders about the opportunities and necessary measures to take to unlock the potential value of the plastics industry; (iv) supporting the government and global agenda towards a healthier, cleaner and sustainable Malaysia. In summary, the main objectives of the document are (i) to sustainably address plastic pollution in Malaysia, ensuring economic development, environmental protection, and societal wellbeing; (ii) to provide guidance and promote sustainable business practices in ensuring plastic circularity and sustainability through circular economy approach; (iii) to harmonize actions along plastic value chain through adoption of life cycle approach. This Roadmap covers four types of resin: PP, PET, HDPE, and LDPE/LLDPE. These resins are the most highly produced and disposed of in Malaysia, commonly used for single-use packaging with a shorter application lifetime.
Malaysia aims to achieve plastic sustainability by adopting the following three key innovation strategies (i) phase-out, which means that products that do not serve an essential function need to be indirectly phased out through innovation. This includes developing new products that function similarly or better, without jeopardizing quality and efficiency, while remaining easily recyclable. Among these innovations are the Apeel (an edible coating made from plant material that extends the shelf-life of fresh fruit and vegetables) and Ooho (an edible and home compostable ‘blobs’ for beverages and condiments made from seaweed); (2) reuse, focusing on reusing packaging, rather than discarding after one use, i.e. refill at home, refill on the go, return at home, and return on the go; (3) material circulation, possible only if plastic waste has been properly collected, sorted, treated, and processed into recycled resin.
Moreover, there is a need to (i) enhance national capacity for reprocessing and manufacturing recycled products; (ii) establish uniform standards, regulations, and messaging across various regions; (iii) expand producer responsibility throughout the plastic value chain, encompassing product design enhancements and the management of post-consumer products; (iv) offer clear regulatory guidance for the use of recycled resin in food contact packaging to meet the demand for halal rPET; (v) effectively communicate circularity and sustainability to actively engage and influence the public, NGOs, and civil societies.
National targets are (i) phasing out problematic SUPs; (ii) 25% post-consumer plastic packaging to be recycled by 2025; (iii) 100% recyclability of plastic packaging by 2030; (iv) 15% average recycled content by 2030; (v) 76% average collected-for-recycling (CFR) rate by 2030.