Do more to stop illegal e-waste exports, US told

An international NGO campaigning against illegal exports of e-scrap has accused authorities in the United States of a ‘callous disregard’ and called on them to do more to tackle the global challenge.

In contrast, the Basle Action Network (BAN) has praised three governments in Southeast Asia for tackling the blight of hazardous cargoes illicitly sent from the West.

‘BAN commends the governments of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia for taking strong actions against illegal imports of hazardous electronic waste, primarily from waste brokers in the United States,’ it says in a press release. ‘The actions taken by targeted countries include searches and seizures of containers, prosecutions of government officials for corruption, as well as raids on informal, unpermitted factories across the region.’

Containers returned

In March, BAN and other concerned organisations wrote an open letter to Indonesia’s president Prabowo Subianto calling for the return to their exporting countries of 914 containers of suspected illegal electronic scrap seized in Batam.

Under its Operation Can Opener initiative, BAN claims to have identified more than 1 500 shipping containers in Indonesia it believes may carry ‘falsely declared e-waste and plastic waste originating in the United States’. BAN says 70 have been returned.

BAN sees Malaysia as the country hardest hit in the last five years. On 1 April, a full ban on e-waste imports was imposed and the Malaysian authorities are looking to re-export more than 800 containers seized in Port Klang. BAN adds that raids on more than 120 recycling premises in 2025 led to 85 court cases.

Thailand, which had already banned imports, announced it would return 284 tonnes of illegal e-scrap to the US following an investigation led by the Minister of Environment.

US blamed

Through its Operation Can Opener campaign and other investigations over the past 12 months, BAN and its local partners have provided intelligence, data and field-based evidence to help authorities identify suspect waste shipments. Its finger is pointed firmly at the United States.

‘This heavy burden cannot remain on Southeast Asian governments to police waste trafficking driven by exporters in wealthy countries such as the US,’ says BAN founder Jim Puckett. ‘The inspiring actions of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia stand in stark contrast to the callous disregard by the US and California governments, their businesses and their institutions.

‘The US must stop looking the other way while its recycling businesses exploit loopholes, falsely declare hazardous cargo, and externalise the very real human and environmental costs to developing countries.’