Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3012688/all-nations-must-come-answers-waste-crisis
Comment/ Opinion

All nations must come up with answers in waste crisis

  • Developed nations are finding they can no longer dump their rubbish in China or Southeast Asia, and they must now process their own garbage and cut back on single-use plastics
People look at plastic waste inside Malaysian cargo containers before it is sent back to the country of origin in Port Klang, Selangor, Malaysia, on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

The dirty secret about recycling became apparent at the start of last year when China stopped importing waste.

It had for more than two decades been taking plastic, paper and metals from developed countries – processing what it could and dumping what it could not – enabling governments to make extravagant claims about their recycling success.

But when the bans were imposed, rubbish began piling up in the United States and elsewhere and a search began for alternatives, with Southeast Asia being largely turned to.

Now, even those developing nations see the error of their ways and it is time for rich countries to take responsibility and tackle head-on a problem they should have been dealing with from the outset.

Recycling had been an opportunity for China; the material it processed could be used for manufacturing.

Container ships full of exports to developed countries that would otherwise have returned almost empty could instead be filled with waste material.

Sorting recyclables is labour intensive and setting up processing plants is expensive, and wealthy countries took advantage of Chinese willingness.

When Beijing all but shut the door, they were unprepared and so-called recyclers diverted containers to Southeast Asia and what could not be taken went into incinerators and landfills.

But recycling is a dirty business in ways beyond the fact it begins with garbage, as China had found and Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam chief among others also now know.

Material that is not properly sorted at the source can be contaminated and not recyclable. What cannot be used has to be disposed of, and in an industry rife with corruption and lawbreakers, recipient populations suffer through open burning of plastics, polluted waterways and illegal dumping.

China had taken about half of the world’s recyclables and Southeast Asia did not have the capacity to deal with so much material.

Malaysia and the Philippines have started turning back shipments. Better solutions have to be found to manage the world’s waste.

Developed countries have to expand processing capacity and manufacturers have to make products more recyclable. Importantly, production of single-use plastics has to be reduced.