The Indonesian government’s restrictions on imported foreign waste has upset residents in the village of Bangun, who depend on waste recycling as a key source of income. Since China banned the import of foreign garbage, Indonesia has seen a surge in the arrival of waste. Last year, Indonesia imported 283,000 tons of plastic waste, up 141% from the previous year. Bangun residents depend on the revenue to send people from the village on the Haj pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest sites in Saudi Arabia and fund schooling, livestock, and housing.

Vietnam will stop issuing new licenses for the import of waste. The country has seen a surge in waste imports since the Chinese government banned the entry of several types of solid wastes at the beginning of 2018, with roughly 6,000 containers of paper, plastic, and metal scrap currently sitting at its ports. The waste is a supplemental source of raw materials for Vietnam's paper, plastic, and steel industries, but the government has stated that this demand benefits only the processors, not the environment.