Main importer of waste since the 1980s, China bans from January 1, 2021 the entry of solid waste into its territory. A beneficial measure for the country but which will not remain without consequences for other States which must now find out how and where to recycle their polluting materials.
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After forty years in this role, China will no longer be the garbage of the rest of the world. From January 1, it closes the door to imports of solid waste, writes the Courrier international.
The Asian country, which has been producing more and more waste in recent years, has been gradually limiting its importation since 2017 to protect its environment. However, this move by China will push other Asian states, often poorer, to increase the volumes of imported waste.
For example, in 2018, when China implemented the first restrictions, Vietnam increased its import of scrap metal by 14%. Lately, Malaysia and Thailand have also seen landfills on their soil multiply, the weekly reports.
The Chinese decision does not only affect Asian countries. Turkey increased from 4,000 tonnes of plastic waste imported each month in 2016 to 48,500 in 2019. The countries of the Gulf of Guinea are also particularly affected by a phenomenon that researcher Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, from the University of St Andrews calls “environmental racism” and blames rich countries.
Indeed, continues the International Courier, the less rich countries produce 0.6 kilograms of waste per day and per inhabitant, while in high-income countries this figure reaches 2.1 kilos and continues to increase. For example, the richest in the city produce 777 kilos of waste per person per year.
As for Europe, the European Court of Auditors noted in a report last October cited by Le Figaro that its “States remain extremely dependent on non-European countries to recycle their waste”. To compensate for a forthcoming restriction on exports of waste outside Europe, the Court calls on its members to speed up the recycling of plastic packaging.
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