Chinese environmental filmmaker says he hopes ban on solid waste imports is just the beginning
- Once the world’s dumping ground, China will stop importing foreign waste from January 1
- Wang Jiuliang’s award-winning movies helped to promote the need for a policy change
For documentary filmmaker Wang Jiuliang, January 1 means much more than the start of a new year.
“[The ban] is a good policy but it has come late and it’s long overdue,” said Wang, who has produced two documentaries – Beijing Besieged by Waste and Plastic China – on the subject.
“Looking back, I would say all the effort I spent over the past 12 years was well worth it,” he said. “I am glad that I may have played a small part in facilitating the policy change.”
According to Mao Da, executive director of Shenzhen Zero Waste, an NGO that focuses on chemicals management and municipal waste issues, environmentalists, scholars and government officials had been pushing for the import ban for many years, and Wang’s films served as a catalyst for action.
“This ban is really the result of many people’s efforts and [Wang’s] documentaries triggered a direct response from the leadership when they were released and hence had a direct impact on policies,” Mao said.