11 million metric tons of waste to be displaced by Chinese import ban, study warns

22 Aug 2018 --- China’s waste import ban, announced in April, could see an estimated 11 million metric tons of waste displaced by 2030, according to researchers at the University of Georgia, US. As 89 percent of exports into China previously consisted of polymer groups often used in single-use plastic food packaging (polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate), bold global ideas and actions for reducing quantities of non-recyclable materials, redesigning products and funding domestic plastic waste management are needed, the researchers conclude.

The deportation of waste from large countries to China was part of a broader trend of wealthier nations with well-developed waste management infrastructure exporting plastic waste abroad to nations that didn't necessarily have the infrastructure needed to manage the waste adequately, the researchers noted. China was the “dumping ground” for more than half of the world's trash before the ban and, at its peak, was importing almost nine million metric tons of plastic scrap a year, according to Greenpeace.

However, the importing ended when China decided to stop taking 24 types of scraps earlier this year, leaving many countries – notably EU members, US and Japan – searching for alternatives. The import ban currently remains, begging the question of where the plastic waste will go now. 

The study, published in Science Advances, utilized the UN Comtrade Database to identify key trends and statistics about the import of plastic waste and to determine what this may mean for the future regarding displaced waste. 

The study ultimately found that global annual imports and exports of plastic waste began to rapidly increase in 1993, having grown 723 and 817 percent in 2016, respectively. In 2016 alone, about half of all plastic waste intended for recycling (14.1 million metric tons) was exported by 123 countries, with China taking most of it (7.35 million metric tons) from 43 different countries. Since it began reporting in 1992, China has imported 106 million metric tons of plastic waste, making up 45.1 percent of all cumulative imports.

Collectively, China and Hong Kong have imported 72.4 percent of all plastic waste. However, Hong Kong acts as an entry port to China, with most of the plastic waste imported to Hong Kong (63 percent) going directly to China as an export in 2016. With the projected BAU Chinese import data, an estimated cumulative 111 million metric tons of plastic waste will be displaced by 2030. The displaced plastic waste is equal to nearly half (47 percent) of all plastic waste that has been imported globally since reporting began in 1988.

The researchers ultimately conclude that adequate waste management is needed at the source, such as North America and Western Europe. They stress that waste cannot simply be dumped and must be dealt with.

PackagingInsights has reported on how a number of countries are attempting to manage their plastic waste, such as with the introduction of plastic taxes, as France plans to do and the UK is considering.

By Laxmi Haigh