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For the first time, plastic was used in the 20th century. Since then, plastic products have become quite common in our daily lives. Plastic is used in many products. For example, it is used to pack medical devices in addition to food products. This is the reason why this product is quite versatile and cost effective. Thanks to this, our life has become much more comfortable.
The problem, however, is that this convenience comes at a price. According to experts, since plastic is not biodegradable, it has a negative impact on our planet. In addition, the recycling infrastructure used worldwide is underdeveloped. As a result, we see that most of the plastic is not recycled. This creates many problems as the product is also not environmentally friendly.
China: Global Recycler of Plastic Waste
From the early 1800s, most developed countries outsourced recycling to other countries, especially China. The idea was to avoid the environmental costs of recycling plastic products. Thus, these tasks have been delegated to the developing countries of the world, and until recently China was at the top of the list.
For many decades, this has benefited both China and the developed world. For developed countries, shipping plastic waste to China was cheaper than processing it in-house. On the other hand, China needed a lot of raw materials to power its manufacturing industry. Therefore, it was a win-win deal. This is the reason why most of these recycling projects were outsourced to China.
This system depended on the resources of one country. By the end of 2016, various countries were sending 7 million tonnes of plastic waste to China each year. The sad thing is that plastic production is growing at an alarming rate.
For three decades, China has managed nearly half of its outsourced plastic waste by the rest of the world. In 2018, the Chinese government introduced a new policy to ban the import of several types of solid plastic waste. This has deepened the concerns of many developed countries that cannot afford to recycle plastic waste.
China’s ban on imports of plastic waste
This new Chinese policy has disrupted the global recycling model. Therefore, many countries have started to develop their own infrastructure for recycling plastics. Europe is an emerging leader in this department. It adopted legislation to promote investment in the recycling industry. : Na.
Europe has committed its countries to collecting at least 90% of plastic bottles by 2029. In addition, by 2030, it will ensure that plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable. that this initiative could create up to 200,000 jobs.
The global recycling industry can help boost economic growth. According to estimates, this industry will reach $ 63 billion by the end of 2024.