The Plastic Trade: China's Import Problem

China has long been the world's largest importer of plastic waste, receiving plastic trash from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. In 2016, Hong Kong was the largest exporter to mainland China, sending nearly 2 million tonnes of plastic waste. In 2014 and 2015, the UK exported 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste to China and Hong Kong, and in 2016, it was 400,000 tonnes. However, in 2018, China drastically cut back on its imports of plastic waste, leaving the US and other wealthy nations to find alternative solutions for their plastic discards.

The UK exported 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year in 2014, 2015 and 2016

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the UK exported 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year. Of this, 500,000 tonnes went to China and Hong Kong in 2014 and 2015, and 400,000 tonnes in 2016. This is a very significant amount, and it is not far off the total amount being recycled from household waste collection.

The UK is not the only country to send plastic waste to China. In 2016, Hong Kong was the world's largest exporter of plastic waste to China, with nearly 2 million tonnes. Japan and the United States also sent large amounts of plastic waste to China. Germany topped the list of Western European countries sending plastic waste to China, with around 390,000 tonnes per year.

China has been struggling to deal with the huge amount of plastic waste it receives. In 2018, China drastically cut back its imports of plastic waste to recycle. Now, the US and other wealthy nations must find alternative solutions for their plastic waste.

There are no official figures for the amount of plastic waste generated in the UK, but the trade organisation Plastics Europe estimated in 2014 that 3.7 million tonnes of plastic was being used per year in the UK.

In 2014 and 2015, 500,000 tonnes of that went to China and Hong Kong

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the UK exported 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year. In 2014 and 2015, 500,000 tonnes of that went to China and Hong Kong, while in 2016, the figure was 400,000 tonnes. This means that the amount of plastic waste being exported to China is not far off the total amount being recycled from household waste collection.

China has changed its rules on importing waste to be recycled, which means the UK won't be able to send some grades of waste plastic there anymore. The US has also been impacted by this change, as China used to recycle about 7 million tons of plastic trash from the US each year.

Hong Kong is the world's largest exporter of plastic waste to mainland China, with nearly 2 million tonnes exported in 2016. Among Western European countries, Germany topped the list with around 390,000 tonnes per year.

In 2016, the highest amount of plastic exports came from Hong Kong

In 2016, the highest amount of plastic exports to China came from Hong Kong, with nearly 2 million tonnes. This was by far the world's largest exporter to mainland China, with Japan and the United States also contributing significant amounts.

Hong Kong's plastic exports to China have been steadily decreasing over the years. In 2014 and 2015, 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste from the UK went to China and Hong Kong, while in 2016, this number decreased to 400,000 tonnes. This decrease can be attributed to China's changing rules on importing waste for recycling, which has made it more difficult for countries to send certain grades of waste plastic to China.

The United States used to ship about 7 million tons of plastic trash to China annually, where it was recycled into raw materials. However, in 2018, China drastically cut back its imports of plastic waste, causing the US and other wealthy nations to find alternative solutions for their plastic waste.

Among Western European countries sending plastic waste to China, Germany topped the list with around 390,000 tonnes per year. These imports contributed to an additional 10-13% of plastic waste to China's already huge amount, which the country has been struggling to manage in recent years.

China has changed its rules on importing waste to be recycled

In 2016, the highest amount of plastic exports came from Hong Kong, which sent nearly 2 million tonnes to mainland China. Japan and the United States were also among the top exporters. Western European countries also sent large amounts of plastic waste to China, with Germany topping the list with around 390,000 tonnes per year. These imports contributed an additional 10 to 13% of plastic waste to the already huge amount that China has been struggling to deal with in recent years.

The U.S. used to ship about 7 million tons of plastic trash to China a year, where much of it was recycled into raw materials. However, in 2018, China drastically cut back its imports of plastic waste to recycle. Now, the U.S. and other wealthy nations must figure out what to do with their discards.

There are no official figures for the amount of plastic waste generated in the UK, but the anti-waste charity Wrap estimated that there would have been 3.7 million tonnes of waste in 2014.

The US used to ship about 7 million tons of plastic trash to China a year

In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the UK exported 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year. In 2014 and 2015, 500,000 tonnes of that went to China and Hong Kong, while in 2016 it was 400,000 tonnes. So the amount of plastic waste being exported to China is not far off the total amount being recycled from household waste collection - it's a very significant amount.

In 2016, the highest amount of plastic exports came from Hong Kong – by far the world’s largest exporter to mainland China with nearly 2 million tonnes – Japan, and the United States. Among the many Western European countries sending their plastic waste to China, Germany topped the list with around 390,000 tonnes per year. These imports contributed to an additional 10 to 13% of plastic waste to the already huge amount that China has been struggling to deal with in recent years.

There are no official figures for the amount of plastic waste generated, but the anti-waste charity Wrap used the Plastics Europe figure to claim that there would have been 3.7 million tonnes of waste.

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