PLASTICITY IS BACK!
JOIN US IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA ON APRIL 12TH AND 13TH, 2027 – M WORLD HOTEL
WHY THIS IS THE TIME TO BE IN THE ROOM
Global recycling systems are being rewritten in real time. How will plastic circularity pan out, regionally, globally, or even just domestically? The EU’s revised plastic shipment regulations and the ongoing UN Plastic Treaty negotiations are creating both logjams and opportunities. Recyclers who built their businesses around cross-border arbitrage are now scrambling for feedstock, rethinking their supply chains, and in many cases, are finding entirely new material streams to survive.
The Plasticity Forum has spent over a decade convening the people who turn these shifts into opportunity, and on April 12-13th, 2027 in Kuala Lumpur, this conversation could not be more timely. Below are some of the key reasons that this is the event to prioritize in 2027:
1. THE OLD EXPORT MODEL IS CLOSING, AND THE OPPORTUNITY IS MOVING LOCAL
For decades, plastic and e-waste flowed from developed economies to Asia because it was cheaper to process there. That model is now structurally ending. The EU has required prior notification and consent for plastic-waste exports since May 2026, and will prohibit plastic-waste exports to non-OECD countries outright starting in November 2026, for at least two and a half years. The U.S. has restricted exports of battery black mass, tungsten scrap, and other critical-mineral-bearing materials. The direction of policy everywhere is the same: keep responsibility for waste closer to where it is generated. Every recycler, manufacturer, and government official in the room at Plasticity Malaysia is grappling with what this means for their own supply chain, and where the next investment in local processing capacity should go.
2. ASEAN, AND MALAYSIA SPECIFICALLY, SIT AT THE CENTER OF THE REALIGNMENT
As traditional import markets tighten, recyclers across Vietnam, Malaysia, and the wider region are already reporting feedstock shortages, while Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are simultaneously restricting what foreign electronic and plastic waste they will accept. This is not a contradiction, it is a signal that the region is moving from being a low-cost dumping ground to becoming a hub for compliant, high-value secondary materials processing. The Plasticity Forum is one of the only global events dedicated entirely to the logjams, opportunities, and solutions around giving plastic a second life before it becomes waste, and now increasingly with metals and electronics. Being in Kuala Lumpur puts attendees at the physical center of where this capacity needs to be built.
3. EPR, PLASTIC TAXES, AND THE UN PLASTIC TREATY WILL DEFINE THE NEXT DECADE OF COMPLIANCE AND OPPORTUNITY
Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, plastic taxes, and the UN Plastic Treaty process (through the INC negotiations) are converging to reshape who pays for plastic waste and who profits from solving it. Plasticity Malaysia is positioned as a direct follow-up to the next round of INC negotiations in March 2027, giving attendees a chance to better understand what changes might be coming, and where the opportunities will appear. For brands, recyclers, and policymakers alike, this is a chance to get ahead of EPR obligations rather than scramble to comply with them later. Let us know if you'd like to be involved as a sponsor or potential speaker - hello@plasticityforum.com
