Battle against pollution now has pride of place

The latest crackdown on waste shipments from overseas launched by the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday reflects the government's firm determination to prevent the continuous inflow of foreign waste in efforts to combat pollution.

Code-named Blue Sky 2018, the ongoing operation targets waste slag, metals and plastics that are being smuggled into the country to be used as raw materials. As much of the waste is hazardous and sold to unlicensed plants with no proper processing technology, it poses a serious threat to the environment and people's health.

It is the third time this year that a campaign has been launched against the smuggling and processing of illegal solid waste since the introduction of a ban on imports of 24 categories of solid waste from foreign countries that came into effect on Jan 1. Since then hundreds of people have been arrested.