Kuala Lumpur (VNA) –Malaysia is the biggest consumer of plastic packaging in Asia, reported theWorld Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on February 17.

The WWF report on plastics looked atChina, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, which contribute60 percent of the estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic that enter the world'soceans each year.

Globally the volume of plastic wastegoing into the ocean is set to quadruple between 2010 and 2050, meaning thatthe sea could contain more plastic by weight than fish by mid-century, thereport noted.

Malaysia ranked highest among the sixcountries analysed in terms of annual per-capita plastic packaging consumption,at about 16.8 kg per person, followed by Thailand at 15.5 kg.

Meanwhile, carbon emissionsassociated with plastic – from production to burning - reached 860 milliontonnes in 2019, greater than the annual emissions of Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippinescombined, it added.

Thomas Schuldt, WWF's coordinator ofwork on a plastic circular economy, said Malaysians consumed the most plastic becausethey were among the wealthiest.

"There is lots of food delivery,which is plastic packaging-heavy - but in addition, there are also a lot of day-to-dayproducts bought in supermarkets," Kuala Lumpur-based
Schuldt told the Thomson ReutersFoundation.

Schuldt urged Malaysia and otherAsian governments to introduce regulation to limit single-use plastics.

He called on Malaysia to also workwith businesses and green groups to introduce a system encouraging consumergoods firms to use less plastic packaging and fund better recycling schemes, asmore than 30 other countries have done, including in Asia.

Last year, the government launchedthe Malaysia Plastics Pact to start a public debate on how to improverecycling, and its findings are likely to be released in March, Schuldt noted.

Malaysia's waste is often mixed andends up in landfill, which can be washed into rivers and seas by extremeweather.

Awareness campaigns to encourageMalaysians to get into the habit of separating their waste could improverecycling rates, Schuldt said./.