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posted by mrpg on Saturday October 21 2017, @07:10AM   Printer-friendly
from the I-dont-know dept.

What will we do when we can't send our junk to China?

The dominant position that China holds in global manufacturing means that for many years China has also been the largest global importer of many types of recyclable materials. Last year, Chinese manufacturers imported 7.3m metric tonnes of waste plastics from developed countries including the UK, the EU, the US and Japan.

However, in July 2017, China announced big changes in the quality control placed on imported materials, notifying the World Trade Organisation that it will ban imports of 24 categories of recyclables and solid waste by the end of the year. This campaign against yang laji or "foreign garbage" applies to plastic, textiles and mixed paper and will result in China taking a lot less material as it replaces imported materials with recycled material collected in its own domestic market, from its growing middle-class and Western-influenced consumers.

The impact of this will be far-reaching. China is the dominant market for recycled plastic. There are concerns that much of the waste that China currently imports, especially the lower grade materials, will have nowhere else to go.


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  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday October 21 2017, @05:48PM (7 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday October 21 2017, @05:48PM (#585724) Journal

    While I certainly hope that USA and Europe can figure out how to reuse/recycle our own plastic trash

    Every little bit helps [sciencealert.com].

    The only real hurdle left to overcome for large scale recycling is monetization and politics, no different than any other human endeavor.

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @06:32PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @06:32PM (#585734)

    "Monetization" IS politics; otherwise profit motive alone would be incentive enough.

    Are you a fan of using armed robbery to fund your pet projects? Because that's what your "political hurdle" would entail.

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday October 21 2017, @06:47PM (3 children)

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday October 21 2017, @06:47PM (#585738) Journal

      Are you a fan of using armed robbery to fund your pet projects?

      On the contrary. I'm a fan of self defense, against my project being shut down for stepping on some big fat cat's toes. Those are the political hurdles to overcome. All of our problems arise from human obstruction.

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @09:38PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @09:38PM (#585784)

        Since you contradicted the claim of political obstruction, the only other possible problems would come from private persons or organizations. So, tell me then: when was the last time a private organization forcibly stopped you from doing something akin to recycling your own material on your own property?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @10:08PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @10:08PM (#585795)

          You fail again at comprehension...

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @06:15AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @06:15AM (#585886)

            No, I don't think so, else it would be simple to explain, given so few words in your post.

            Who are these "fat cats" keeping you from starting to recycle in bulk? If they're government agents (regardless of who supports them), it is a political problem involving coercion using lethal force. If you claim they're private actors, then I challenge you to show me an example of such a thing being done so it can be dissected and analyzed.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Saturday October 21 2017, @09:20PM (1 child)

    by frojack (1554) on Saturday October 21 2017, @09:20PM (#585781) Journal

    The only real hurdle left to overcome for large scale recycling is monetization

    China is the dominant market for recycled plastic. There are concerns that much of the waste that China currently imports, especially the lower grade materials, will have nowhere else to go.

    Exactly. Dominant market means the most profitable for the seller of recyclables. The Chinese simply paid more or charged less. It was all dollars and very little sense.

    Its questionable whether recycling actually works at all, and adding a big transport bill to the process only make sense if you want to keep it well away from you town.

    I live within 50 miles of a US manufacturer of playground equipment made of recycled milk and beverage containers. The entire region recycles with curb side pickup.

    Homeowners around this state already wash, rinse, sort (or pay for sort facilities) all plastics as well as just about everything else. We pay recycle centers to take it, to haul it, and we pay them again in property tax levies, for government contracts. They in turn virtually give the sorted and bundled material away.

    Yet the playground equipment is some of the most expensive models you will ever find.
    Even if we handle our own recycling in this country we can't afford to do anything with the recycled materials.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @12:20AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @12:20AM (#585828)

      > Even if we handle our own recycling in this country we can't afford to do anything with the recycled materials.

      I think this says something about the price (very cheap) of petroleum based plastics. The refining process is highly developed/optimized, so it's tough to compete against it with recycled plastics, for many types of products.