China waste ban: What a load of rubbish, by Graham Lloyd.

China’s waste ban, good news for its own environment, poses difficulties for countries that have come to depend on the trade. …

According to one 2014 study China received 56 per cent by weight of global scrap plastic exports. China still wants scrap plastic but it wants it processed into pellets first.

Until now, China’s trade in rubbish had made sound economic sense. Cargo ships carry goods from China to Western countries and carry scrap back. China’s booming industries are near major ports and are hungry for plastics. Selling scrap to a broker to be shipped to China is cheaper than sending it to recycling facilities at home, University of California’s Kate O’Neill says.

In a global context, Australia is a relatively minor player. Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg says Australia is one of more than 100 countries affected by China’s new restrictions.

The ban affects about 1.3 million tonnes, or 4 per cent, of Australia’s recyclable waste, but 35 per cent of recyclable plastics and 30 per cent of recyclable paper and cardboard. …

The restrictions include new limits on contamination for recycled material that much of Australia’s recycling does not meet. …

The impact of the China ban domestically already has been profound. With China out of the market, the price paid for waste in Australia has dropped from about $350 a tonne to anywhere between $50 and zero. This has had a knock-on effect at local councils, which use fees from selling collected recyclable waste to underpin the kerbside recycling effort. At the other end, waste paper and plastic that used to go to export quickly is starting to clog waste facilities. Arguments are already being made to burn the waste for energy or to bury it in landfill.

If recycling was economically viable, private companies would be bidding for your waste.