Japanese media said that all over Japan is now full of plastic waste. The reason is that China’s recycling of waste plastics, the main export destination, has imposed import restrictions, which has made Japan’s recycling use not catch up. On the other hand, it is widely refused to use worldwide. Disposable plastic products, strengthening regulatory measures and other sports.
According to the Japanese "Yomiuri Shimbun" reported on July 2, 'has reached the limit.' A director of the waste disposal industry in the Kanto region issued a sorrow. Plastic beverage bottles, food packaging, drying racks... his recycling The plastic garbage piled up in the station is up to 5 meters, and has reached the dangerous level exceeding the storage standard stipulated by the waste disposal law.
The person in charge bought the beverage bottles from convenience stores, enterprises and other places from the waste recycling personnel and sold them to the Chinese background exporters. The monthly shipments reached 3,000 tons. But China called at the end of last year. After stopping importing, the garbage has lost its place. The Japanese garbage disposal industry practitioners are no longer buying new garbage, and even paying back to those who can get the garbage back, so as to control the garbage to continue to increase.
According to industry insiders, many operators have no place to accommodate new garbage. More than half of the operators in the Kanto region no longer receive new garbage. Enterprises also need to pay more for processing waste plastics.
According to the report, China began to purchase a large amount of resource-based waste from the global market in the 1980s to make up for the shortage of domestic resources, to make new plastic products and chemical fiber raw materials, to achieve recycling and recycling. Compared with products, the cost is much lower. For Japan and Europe and the United States, which have the demand for exporting waste plastics, China is a very suitable 'junkyard'.
According to reports, some of the imported waste plastics contain toxic substances. Therefore, China has decided to stop the import of waste plastics for daily use, including plastic bags and beverage bottles. It is expected that industrial production will be suspended in December this year. Import of waste plastics produced in the process.
According to the report, for Japan, the current solution can only be exported to other countries or burned. Since this year, Japan has increased its exports to Thailand and Vietnam, but it is far from making up for the amount originally exported to China. And Thailand The government has also said that due to the illegal handling of resource waste from Japan, import restrictions will soon be introduced. The discovery of a large number of plastic bags in the body of whales salvaged from Thailand's offshore has also affected.
According to the report, incineration of plastic waste can also cause problems. The classified and recovered garbage can be recycled. As a fuel, heat is generated for use in power plants. If it is directly incinerated, garbage classification will also lose its meaning. Moreover, the high temperature generated by burning plastics may damage the incineration. Furnace. Even in the process of incineration, a large amount of carbon dioxide is released, which aggravates the warming of the climate. About 70% of the waste plastics in Japan are now incinerated, and the proportion of incineration can no longer be increased.
Kojima, a senior economist at the East Asia-ASEAN Economic Research Center, who is familiar with recycling issues, pointed out: 'From a long-term perspective, it is necessary to increase the amount of recycling equipment while reducing the amount of plastic waste generated.'
According to data from the United Nations Environment Program, more than 60 countries have imposed restrictions on the use of disposable plastic products. The focus is on Europe and the United States.
According to the introduction of relevant Japanese industry, the recovery rate in Europe and the United States is very low. The impact of China's cessation of imports on them is much greater than that in Japan. If the production and burning of petroleum-based plastic products are reduced, it will also help to curb climate warming.
According to reports, the problem of marine pollution caused by plastic waste is also becoming more and more serious. Plastics floating on the sea are affected by the impact of the waves and ultraviolet rays to form micro-plastics, which have a serious impact on the ecosystem. Those who use disposable plastics are also suffering. The more condemnation.
McDonald's announced that by the end of next year, all plastic stores in the UK and Ireland will replace the existing plastic straws with paper straws. Some stores in the US and France have begun experimentally placing paper straws.
At the G-7 summit in June, the "Marine Plastics Charter" with numerical targets was formulated. Japan has refused to sign with the United States on the grounds that 'no coordination with the industry may have a major impact on people's lives'. I left the impression of a negative response to the problem of plastic waste.
Against this background, Japan plans to use this issue as one of the main topics at the G20 summit, which will be its presidency next year, to formulate a national strategy for waste plastics at the G20 level. A senior government official said that he hopes Japan can Contribute to the development of a framework mechanism that encompasses developing countries.