Decline in Waste Imports in China
China’s imports of waste – including recyclables – has been in decline over the last year. Imports of scrap plastic have almost totally stopped due to the trade war. China said that most of the plastic was garbage, and too dirty to recycle.
China’s Ban on Waste Imports
China determined in July 2017 and announced on 16 August 2017 that it would stop the import of 24 kinds of solid waste from foreign countries. The new policy was implemented on 1 January 2018, and banned the imports of those wastes.
Before the ban, Chinese annual imports of plastic waste reached 8.88 million tons, with as much as 70.6% buried or even mismanaged, triggering environmental problems.
Reasons for China’s Ban on Waste Imports
But from December 2018, ships carrying solid waste, including unsorted paper and low-grade polyethylene terephthalate used in plastic bottles, among others, will no longer be welcome in Chinese ports.
Why did China stop accepting recyclables?
China had accepted much of the world’s plastic waste and dealt with all of the issues that came with it. But in 2018, the country decided that it had had enough of poor quality recycled plastic imports and put a stop to it. The material entering the country was just too polluted with dirt and contaminants to process safely, creating enormous environmental problems for China.