Britain is to take back 42 containers of plastic waste that had been illegally shipped to Malaysia, the two countries have said.The containers, which arrived at Penang Port between March 2018 and March 2019, were deemed to be illegal because they did not comply with the required import papers.More than 300 containers of plastic waste are being held at Penang after arriving without the right permits, but countries have agreed to take back 200 of those.Image:There has been a sudden influx of plastic waste into Malaysia.

File picMalaysia said last year that it wants to send waste back to its source nation, while making the original country pay for the cost of returning it.In 2018, the southeast Asian country became one of the world's top destinations for plastic waste, following a ban by nearby China on scrap imports which affected around seven million tonnes of rubbish a year.Yeo Bee Yin, Malaysia's minister for energy, science, technology, environment and climate change, called the UK's offer to take back the waste "highly commendable".In a joint-statement with the UK high commission she added: "This co-operation signifies a recognition that plastic pollution is a global issue which requires commitment from various countries to address the problem."We hope the co-operation and understanding between Malaysia and United Kingdom will set an example for other countries with companies exporting contaminated plastic waste to other developing nations."In the same statement, Charles Hay, the British High Commissioner to Malaysia said: "The UK Government shares the same concerns as the Malaysian Government on the issue of plastic waste.:: A New Climate is a series of special podcasts from the Sky News Daily.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker"The repatriation of these 42 containers reflects our commitment to fighting the illegal plastic waste trade."We look forward to working with Malaysia on the broader agenda of conserving the environment and addressing climate change".The sudden influx of waste into the country has led to dozens of unlicensed recycling factories popping up in the country.It has also sparked environmental concerns, due to the low-quality and contaminated plastic passing through Malaysia's ports, which cannot be recycled - meaning it ends up being buried in landfill or burnt.