Australia to stop trash export

An Indonesian officer holds up a newspaper from a container filled with Australia's trash. File pic/AFP

Sydney: Australia on Friday pledged to stop exporting recyclable waste amid global concerns about plastic polluting the oceans and increasing pushback from Asian nations against accepting trash. Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed with the leaders to prepare a timeline to phase out the exports of recyclables like plastics, paper and glass.

"It's our waste and it's our responsibility," he said. "We're laying it out very clearly that there will be no export of plastics and paper and glass to other countries where it runs the risk of ending up floating around in our oceans," he said. "We will do everything that is in our remit to achieve that goal," he added.

No deadline has been set but local leaders have been tasked with reducing landfill and boosting the recycling sector in Australia. Government figures show the country shipped over four million tonnes of its recyclable waste overseas last financial year.

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