Southeast Asia sends back heaps of trash to rich countries

After China import ban, garbage-filled containers swamp the region

20190729N heaps of trash

A container filled with trash arrives at a port in Indonesia.  © AP

JUN ENDO, Nikkei staff writer

MANILA -- Southeast Asian nations have begun to turn away smuggled waste to the countries of origin, with Indonesia and Cambodia following in the footsteps of Malaysia and the Philippines.

The moves come after China, the longtime major trash importer, stopped accepting scraps last year. Seeing a huge influx of garbage into the region, Southeast Asian countries are refusing to become a dumping ground for developed economies' waste.

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