(ECNS) -- China will ban the import of solid waste in any form since Jan. 1, 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) announced Monday.
Qiu Qiwen, director of the Department of Solid Wastes and Chemicals at the MEE made the remarks at a press conference.
The ministry will cooperate with the General Administration of Customs to crack down on foreign garbage smuggling, strictly punish unlawful practices like solid waste import according to law, and cut off the supply and demand profit chain for foreign garbage, Qiu said.
In July 2017, the State Council of China approved an action plan to ban garbage imports and reform the solid waste import management system to protect the environment.
Remarkable results have been achieved after three years of unremitted efforts.
Statistics showed that China's solid waste import have been greatly reduced year by year. The total volume of 2017, 2018 and 2019 came to 42,270,000 tons, 22,630,000 tons, and 13,480,000 tons, respectively, 9.2 percent, 51.4 percent 71 percent less than the 46,550,000 tons in 2016 prior to the reform.
China's total import volume of solid waste this year is 7,180,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 41 percent by Nov. 15.
The revised Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste, implemented on Sept. 1, 2020, clearly stipulates "China is gradually stopping solid waste import."
