From January 1, 2018, China’s import ban on foreign garbage has officially come into effect. The ban covers 24 types of solid waste in four categories, including waste plastics from domestic waste, unsorted waste paper and waste textile raw materials. As for the reason for the ban on imports, the document clearly states that "the illegal entry of foreign garbage has been repeatedly banned, seriously endangering the health of the people and the safety of our country's ecological environment." This is just the beginning. By the end of 2019, China will gradually stop importing all solid waste that can be replaced by domestic resources. Obviously, the Chinese government’s basic attitude towards foreign garbage has changed. Recycled metals, plastics and other raw materials are cheaper than virgin materials. Fundamentally, China’s status as a global manufacturing center and the resulting massive demand for cheap raw materials have determined that China has continued to import large amounts of solid waste from abroad over the past few decades. According to data from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (Comtrade), in 2015, more than 70% of waste plastic and 37% of waste paper in the world were exported to China. European countries and the United States are the main sources of this waste. This supply chain can be sustained naturally because every link in it is profitable. For developed countries, the cost of domestic processing is about US$400 to US$1,000 per ton, and the cost of shipping to China is only US$10 to US$40 per ton even with freight. However, for Chinese receivers, the cost is extremely low. After buying at the price, through multiple selections and classifications, and reselling them layer by layer, a series of products are formed at the bottom of the global value chain.
