The US sends lots of plastic trash overseas. Malaysia just said no thanks

In the shadow of President Donald Trump’s tariff fights, a different kind of trade war is playing out involving candy wrappers and plastic bottles. On Tuesday, Malaysia, which received more discarded plastic from rich nations than any other developing country last year, effectively banned all shipments of plastic waste from the United States.

That might not seem like a big deal. But the United States has increasingly relied on countries like Malaysia to deal with plastic trash. American scrap brokers sent more than 35,000 tons of plastic waste to…