China will ban on January 1, 2021 the import of the last types of solid waste still authorized in the country, marking the epilogue of a policy launched three years ago, announced Friday a state media.
Read also: China sets a goal of carbon neutrality by 2060
Anxious to no longer be the trash of the planet, the Asian giant began in January 2018 to close its doors to foreign waste, causing an accumulation of materials to be recycled in rich countries.
China has gradually banned, over the months, the import of different types of plastics, automotive parts, paper, textiles, and scrap steel or wood.
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Any import of solid waste, by any means whatsoever, will now be prohibited,
" said a note from the authorities, quoted Friday by the New China news agency.
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The announcement will take effect from January 1, 2021,
" adds the text dated Tuesday and published jointly by the Ministries of Environment and Trade, Customs and the National Economic Planning Commission (NDRC).
Read also: Pollution: China has made "impressive progress"
This environmental policy has been popular in China since its inception.
But it caused great difficulties for some American and European recycling manufacturers, forced to store waste while waiting for a solution.
Waste exported to the Asian country had been bought for decades by local companies, who cleaned, crushed and transformed it into raw materials for industrialists.
SEE ALSO
- At the UN, China pledges to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 (23/09/2020)
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