It's no secret that China dominates world trade across many industries, including... the rubbish-trade?
That’s right, China imports waste — scraps for recycling such as scrap copper, iron and steel, as well as waste paper and plastic.
However that may soon no longer be the case, as China has recently notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it will no longer import 24 categories of solid waste from overseas. The move is part of a larger government campaign against yang laji or ‘foreign garbage,’ reports The Economist. China will instead rely on its own domestic waste for recycling.
“The problem of foreign garbage is loathed by everyone in China,” said an official from the environmental protection ministry of the decision last month, the SCMP reports.
The positive outcome of this decision is that it will reportedly decrease pollution and improve public health. But the move could also significantly damage world trade, causing a disruption of billions of dollars.
The recycling industry is a lot bigger than many people may realize. One reason is that it is significantly cheaper to recycle certain materials such as copper and steel, rather than to make or mine them.
Despite the benefits, though, recycled scraps are often dirty and sometimes even contain harmful substances.
According to The Economist, a number of Xinjiang factories unknowingly imported over 100 tonnes of radioactive metal from Kazakhstan in 1996. A year later, an American businessman was accused and later convicted of smuggling over 200 tonnes of unsorted rubbish that had initially been labeled as waste paper.
Efforts have recently been made to block illegal and low-quality waste from entering China's borders. Since 2013, when the government began ramping up trash inspection efforts under "Operation Green Fence," rubbish imports have decreased significantly.
And in July of this year, the country's environment industry began cracking down on businesses importing trash. Nearly 800 companies were punished as of last month, according to the SCMP.
[Cover image via ABC Science]
0 User Comments