The Chinese Government is set to ban all imports of solid waste from 2021, the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has learned.
According to the BIR’s contacts in China, the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced on 30 June in a press conference that it would no longer accept and approve import applications for solid waste from 2021.
Chinese customs authorities have intercepted over 500,000 tonnes of illegal waste under the ‘Blue Sky 2020’ campaign and plan to continue the crackdown on illicit domestic and foreign waste imports.
Three European trade associations have called on the European Commission to safeguard the waste management provisions outlined in the European Green Deal and its associated Circular Economy Action Plan as part of a post-coronavirus green economic recovery.
Four consumer brands are responsible for half a million tonnes of plastic pollution each year in just six developing countries, according to a new report by charity Tearfund.
The Malaysian Government has announced that it has returned 150 shipping containers of illegally imported plastic waste to their countries of origin, including the UK.
A new report from Dutch social enterprise Circle Economy has revealed that the global economy is consuming a record 100 billion tonnes of materials a year, while the reuse of resources has gone into reverse.
The Indian Government is set to implement a one per cent contamination limit on imports of mixed paper in a crackdown on the import of contaminated and illegal waste.
The Environment Agency has said it intends to launch a ‘formal investigation’ over a cargo of contaminated waste that was exported from the UK to the Sri Lankan port of Colombo.
The Nigerian Government is hoping to kick off a circular economy for electronic products with support from the Global Environmental Facility and UN Environment.
Cath Wilson and Zoë Lenkiewicz of WasteAid present the recycling charity’s new fundraising appeal, Widening the Net, which is being match-funded by the UK Government and will support WasteAid’s work in marginalised communities.
The Malaysian Government has announced that it will be sending back around 3,000 tonnes of contaminated plastic waste imported from developed countries.
Dumped and burned rubbish, especially plastic waste, is responsible for the death of one person every 30 seconds in low-income countries, according to a report from disaster relief charity Tearfund.
186 countries have agreed to put restrictions on the export of plastic waste, after an amendment to the global framework governing the movement of hazardous chemicals and waste was passed on 10 May.
A report by Greenpeace and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives critiques the “inefficient” and “predatory” system of plastic waste exports from wealthy countries to communities in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Australia could become the latest country bring in stricter single-use plastic restrictions after the Labor Party announced plans to ban microbeads and lightweight plastic bags.
Taiwan’s recycling rate is one of the highest in the world and the country secures an array of high quality material from households. Charles Newman visited an MRF to see what Taiwan is doing right
Recycling charity WasteAid is set to establish a new recycling centre in Kenya after being awarded a grant from UK Aid Direct, the government fund for projects working towards poverty reduction.
