Total ban on imports of rubbish to China piles pressure on Asian neighbours
Veto on accepting overseas junk marks culmination of three-year reduction policy

China is halting all waste imports from overseas to its shores from next month, in a move expected to see foreign countries instead dumping tonnes of rubbish on poorer Asian nations.
Beijing has confirmed that as of 1 January, China will no longer accept “waste plastic, scrap paper, textiles and some other products”, ending exemptions to a partial ban enacted in 2017, The Times reports.
Since the 1980s, China has accepted vast quantities of waste products from foreign nations, with the US, Japan and Germany among the biggest exporters.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Indeed, China has been the “world’s largest importer of rubbish” for years, France 24 reports. Some of this waste has been cleaned, crushed and developed into raw materials for the Asian superpower’s exploding industrialist industry.
But the vast amounts of rubbish deposited on Chinese shores has “often lead to pollution when the materials cannot be recycled or disposed of properly”, the news site continues. Fed up with being “the world’s rubbish bin”, the government began to “close China’s doors to foreign waste” in January 2018.
Three years later, Beijing is poised to implement a total ban on dumping, storage and disposal of waste products from overseas on Chinese territory. The importation of recycled materials processed outside China will still be permitted, however, “so that manufacturers still have access to resources”, says The Times.
China’s solid waste imports have already decreased significantly as a result of the reduction policy. The country imported 13.48 million tonnes of junk last year - a 40% decrease on 2018.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Most of the surplus junk is going to countries in southeast Asia, “where many of the recycling facilities are owned by Chinese companies”, the paper reports.
And following the implementation of the total ban, the flow of rubbish is expected to intensify to poorer nations within China’s immediate orbit, including India, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs.
Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all time
The Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louder
THE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’
Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of Taiwan
In the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdown
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago