Following the joint announcement on the 24th by China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment and relevant departments banning the import of solid waste, Qiu Qiwen, Director of the Solid Waste and Chemicals Department of the Ministry, reiterated on the 30th that, effective January 1, 2021, China will prohibit the import of solid waste in any form. Statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China show that the total amount of solid waste imported by China has declined significantly in recent years, from 22.63 million tons in 2018 to 13.48 million tons in 2019. In the first ten months of 2020, China declared imports of 6.69 million tons of solid waste, a year-on-year decrease of 42.7%. China's environmental protection plan, launched in 2017, is entering its final phase. Within this policy framework, China has initially listed 24 types of solid waste in four categories for import ban, including plastics, auto parts, paper, textiles, and steel and wood scrap. China, once a major importer of solid waste, has been processing foreign solid waste within its borders for nearly 14 years. In 2017, China implemented restrictive measures for several months through an operation called "National Sword," rejecting certain waste products, including those difficult to recycle. Effective New Year's Day 2021, China banned the import of solid waste in any form and prohibited the dumping, storage, and disposal of solid waste from abroad.
