Global plastic waste exports to China 2017-2018

In February 2017, almost 600,000 metric tons of plastic waste was exported by some 90 countries to China. China has historically been the dumping ground for foreign nations waste, importing approximately two-thirds of the world's plastic waste in 2016. However, in 2017 China introduced new environmental laws which led to a decline in plastic waste imports. In the same year the country announced the "National Sword Policy", which began on January 1st 2018. This effectively halted all foreign waste imports, and by February 2018 global exports to China had fallen massively. The ban caused huge problems for the global recycling industry, with large quantities of waste piling up or being landfilled as export nations scrambled for new ways to deal with their waste. Countries such as the United States began rerouting their shipments to South East Asian nations such as Malaysia and Thailand. However, following China's lead Malaysia has also clamped down on waste imports, sending back shipments of plastic waste. Wealthy nations are now having to rethink how they deal with their garbage footprint.

2017年2月，约90个国家向中国出口了近60万吨塑料废弃物。中国历来是外国废物的倾倒地，在2016年，中国进口了全球约三分之二的塑料废弃物。然而，在2017年，中国推出了新的环保法规，导致塑料废弃物进口量下降。同年，国家宣布了“国家剑政策”，该政策自2018年1月1日起实施。这一政策有效地阻止了所有外国废物的进口，到2018年2月，全球对中国的出口量大幅下降。该禁令对全球回收行业造成了巨大问题，大量废弃物堆积或被填埋，而出口国则纷纷寻找新的废物处理方法。例如，美国开始将货物重新运往东南亚国家，如马来西亚和泰国。然而，在效仿中国之后，马来西亚也加强了对废物进口的控制，将塑料废弃物退回。富裕国家现在不得不重新思考如何处理他们的垃圾足迹。