Recycling: 16
N
O, it doesn’t all end up in Chinese of waste, which in the UK are enforced fo
landfill sites. However, plastics by the Environment Agency and it is bo
for recycling are regularly illegal to export waste for disposal. fib
bought in the UK and elsewhere for There are also substantial costs po
export to China. incurred in shipping materials to China: bo
The world trade in recycled materials for example, a tonne of milk bottles can ho
is very important, and minimizes the be worth around £200 and the shipping cr
need to use more expensive virgin costs and import duties can be a similar T
plastics and the resources required to amount again. So, even if it were legal, it of
manufacture them, including oil. does not make economic sense to re
The recycled materials are usually export them to China to be dumped. th
transported in container ships that are
Why is recyclable waste going abroad?
UK
returning to China after bringing goods
Some of our recycling is exported to
to us, which lessens the environmental
be made into new products. In China,
impact of the transport.
there is a much larger manufacturing
It’s also worth noting there are strict
industry than we have here in the UK.
international laws surrounding exports
There is very strong demand in China
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Issue one: October 08