Change of treatment does not mean waste industry is being scrapped

IMPORTS OF 16 TYPES OF SOLID WASTE, including compressed car scraps and scrapped ships, will be banned from Dec 31, and another 16 types of solid waste, including stainless steel scraps and wood, will be banned from the end of next year. China will completely stop importing solid waste by the end of 2020. People's Daily comments:

China started importing solid waste in the 1980s to meet its fast-developing manufacturing industries' demands for raw materials and resources, some of which could be obtained from imported waste. At the peak of the trade, the country imported nearly 60 million tons of solid waste a year.

But China has shifted its attention from quantitative growth to qualitative development. Putting an end to the practice of importing other countries' waste is a necessary move to protect the ecology and environment, and to promote sustainable growth.