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Why China Doesn’t Want Your Trash Anymore
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Why China Doesn’t Want Your Trash Anymore

PolyMatter
PolyMatter, 2019
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Overview
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

Although the Western world criticizes China’s pollution, the West has sold much of its recyclable waste to China since 1988. In recent years, rapid economic growth and stricter environmental policies in China prompted an end to this practice. PolyMatter’s thought-provoking report explores the impact of this decision on China and the world. Though its sardonic tone may serve to trivialize this monumental, rarely discussed global issue, this trash talk is essential viewing for policy makers, sustainability professionals and consumers alike. 

Take-Aways

  • Since 1988, China has imported almost half of the world’s plastic waste, but the tide is starting to turn.
  • The United States has a huge trade deficit with China. America corrects the imbalance by selling recyclable waste, a significant raw material in Chinese production, to China.
  • A series of Chinese environmental policies has ended Chinese trash imports, changing the face of global waste management.

About the Speaker

PolyMatter is a YouTube channel that creates content on a range of topics, including economics, business and design.

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