Mainland China has banned the import of 24 kinds of recyclable solid waste including waste plastics and unsorted waste paper since the beginning of this year. It has caused headaches for British recycling companies that previously transported wastes to mainland China, and has since moved to Southeast Asia and Taiwan, not only Malaysia. As the largest country to receive waste plastics in the United Kingdom, Taiwan, which is implementing a plastic limit policy, has also surged 10 times.
According to the report of the environmental magazine RESOURCE, Britain used to export about 494,000 tons of waste plastics and 1.4 million tons of waste paper each year in the mainland of China. Since China began implementing environmental protection policies and import bans, the United Kingdom has decided to pass on waste that cannot be digested by itself. It was shipped to Southeast Asia and Taiwan. According to HMRC statistics, from January to April this year, Malaysia’s waste plastics surged threefold, becoming the largest country to receive British waste plastics, while Thailand increased by 50 times and Taiwan increased. 10 times.
At present, waste plastics exported from the United Kingdom to mainland China have plummeted by 97% and Hong Kong has dropped by 71%. Although the top priority has been addressed, Jacob Hayler, director of the British Environmental Services Association (ESA), warned that ports in Southeast Asia including Vietnam, The phenomenon of rejecting waste plastics began to appear. It may not be able to completely replace China in the future. In addition to actively seeking alternative markets, the UK should expand the infrastructure for investment recycling waste at this stage.