China’s imports of solid waste have remained on decline in the first four months of the year as the country tightened enforcement of a ban on solid waste imports. Imports of plastic, paper and metal waste reached 4.74 million tons during the January-April period, down 33.1 percent from the same period last year.
Last month, solid waste imports came to 1.3 million tons, down from 1.38 million tons in March. China started importing solid waste as a source of raw materials in the 1980s and for years has been the world’s largest importer, despite its weak capacity in garbage disposal.