Plastic pollution: One town smothered by 17,000 tonnes of rubbish
Malaysia has become one of the world's biggest plastic importers, taking in rubbish the rest of the world doesn't want.
It began last summer. Every night, after the clock struck midnight, Daniel Tay knew exactly what was coming.
He would shut his doors, seal his windows and wait for the inevitable. Soon his room would be filled with an acrid smell, like rubber being burned. Coughing, his lungs would tighten.
Over the next few months, the strange smell would return every night, like clockwork.
It was only later that he found the source of the smell - illegal recycling factories that were secretly burning plastic.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46518747
Malaysia has become one of the world's biggest plastic importers, taking in rubbish the rest of the world doesn't want.
It began last summer. Every night, after the clock struck midnight, Daniel Tay knew exactly what was coming.
He would shut his doors, seal his windows and wait for the inevitable. Soon his room would be filled with an acrid smell, like rubber being burned. Coughing, his lungs would tighten.
Over the next few months, the strange smell would return every night, like clockwork.
It was only later that he found the source of the smell - illegal recycling factories that were secretly burning plastic.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46518747