Preface
Once upon a time, the mainland became the "foreign garbage receiving warehouse" of Western capital, but then we chose to decisively refuse to accept it.
In 2017, the mainland government issued a plan to ban foreign garbage from entering the country, and up to now, we have banned "foreign garbage" for 7 years.
This move inevitably made those Western countries a little at a loss, and they could only pile up garbage in their own countries, causing a situation of "garbage siege", so that in recent years, developed countries have collapsed somewhat.
So, why did the mainland accept the "foreign garbage" of Western countries in the past, and why did it resolutely refuse it later? What is the hidden meaning behind this?
How is the West dealing with this passive situation today?
The darkness of the "foreign garbage" industry
When did the mainland begin to reject these "foreign garbage"? There are different opinions on this.
Many people say that the mainland began to reduce the type and quantity of solid waste in 2017, so it has been banned for seven years, but in fact, in 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission, the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued a relevant announcement on the "comprehensive ban on the import of solid waste".
The announcement said that after January 1, 2021, our country will prohibit the import of solid waste, that is, "foreign garbage", in any way.
It's counterintuitive, and it's incredible.
It stands to reason that China has been developing for so long, so how can it ban "foreign garbage"? Could it be that the mainland has been collecting the "rags" of Western countries for more than 10 years?
Of course not.
Let's first understand what is "foreign garbage", the so-called "foreign garbage" has always been a common name, on the one hand, it refers to the waste materials that can be imported, on the other hand, it also refers to the solid waste that enters the mainland from illegal channels, and many people often say that "foreign garbage" is actually the latter kind.
The reason why our country allowed those recyclable solid wastes to come in was because they had "utilization value", and we could use them to "reuse waste";
On the other hand, those illegal entry garbage that is not allowed is really harmful to the people and the land of the mainland.
I don't know when a large amount of unsorted garbage that does not meet environmental protection standards is "smuggled" to the mainland every year.
Many small cottage businesses regard this "garbage" as a treasure, because they know that there is still a profit to be made in this mountain of garbage composed of cheap scrap cars, old appliances, empty cardboard boxes and waste soda bottles, and waste clothes.
When the "smuggling" garbage first entered the mainland, it was manually sorted by migrant workers or others, and no one knew whether there were any harmful substances in the garbage, or whether there was medical waste in it that had to be incinerated, and we didn't even know where the source of these things was.
After the initial sorting is completed, these "foreign garbage" are sold in different types for money, and they are sold to various "black-hearted" small steel mills, paper mills and textile mills, and finally produce one after another goods that seem to be "harmless to humans and animals", and when consumers bring them back to their homes, no one knows that their "past life" is "foreign garbage".
According to professional reports, the main sources of "foreign garbage" on the mainland were Europe and the United States, and Western countries were really good at the time, and every year they would throw away thousands or even tens of thousands of mobile phones and computers.
These electronic products are "treasures", so the dismantling of electronic products has gradually extended an industrial chain of great benefits, of course, in essence, foreigners do not dismantle these things.
It sounds really unjust that foreigners can "throw this garbage at us" "out of sight and out of mind".
Sadly, after the garbage arrived on the mainland, because many dismantling and treatment plants did not have relevant qualifications, and some were even small workshops, most factories did not take safety measures.
They hired people to sort and dismantle at the lowest cost, but the harmful substances seeped into the groundwater, a large number of toxic gases began to escape, and the air was polluted.
As a simple example, friends who live in Guiyu, Guangdong Province must have seen e-garbage dumps in some areas a few years ago.
Guangdong Guiyu electronic garbage dump
Their site is full of strange metal smells and strange smells, and even the soil of the garbage dump has a strong smell that lasts for a long time, which is different from our common domestic wet garbage, although the smell of domestic garbage after deterioration is more disgusting, but the smell of this electronic waste is more physiologically uncomfortable.
Perhaps this is exactly the case, even though we are a developing country, we do not want to do this kind of seemingly "win-win" business.
Why do I say this kind of business is a "win-win"?
On this point, let's do a simple calculation, and after reading it, everyone may suddenly understand.
At that time in 2017, the CIF price of a ton of "foreign garbage" was US$140 per ton, which was about 1,000 yuan, and even if the middleman was later paid US$10 (about 72 yuan), plus import taxes and other taxes, the final cost was 1,000 to 1,100 yuan.
What is the above, after the end of sorting, the market sales price of waste paper is 2,000 yuan/ton, the market price of mineral water bottles is 7,000 to 10,000 yuan/ton, and if you encounter cans and other metals, you can sell 4,000 yuan per ton.
What a profit!
Huanqiu.com, published on August 2, 2017
It is precisely for this reason that in the process of banning foreign garbage, the mainland has gone through several stages.
From the beginning of the strict prohibition of illegal "foreign garbage" into the country, to the later strict regulation of enterprise waste disposal standards, and finally in 2020 announced a complete ban on "foreign garbage".
Although the process is tortuous, the results are gratifying, and the mainland resource recycling industry continues to develop.
I really didn't expect that "foreign garbage" can also be "killed", I remember that in 2009, CCTV's "Economic Half Hour" broadcast a program about "foreign garbage clothing".
This show tells people how those foreign waste clothes are washed, dried in the sun, and finally made into new clothes from garbage cubes like "compressed biscuits".
The shocking things of the past have become a thing of the past, and there are fewer and fewer uremias, kidney stones, and lead poisoning in our land because of illegal foreign garbage, and there are more and more green waters and green mountains.
With the continuous upgrading of the industry, we no longer need to "pan for gold" from foreign garbage, which is really gratifying.
However, we should not ignore one question, that is, we don't want "foreign garbage," and foreigners can still stop producing garbage? Where is the "stinky" garbage of the past gone?
New troubles in Western countries
European and American countries naturally have their own methods, and when they first learned that China rejected "foreign garbage", they turned around and transported this garbage to developing Southeast Asia and India, and even Africa took over a part of the "foreign garbage", and the locals hoped to obtain pitiful funds from this "seven wounds" industry for economic development.
But later, as they came into contact with this "harmful" industry, these countries suddenly realized that they had suffered the serious consequences of pollution transfer, and the price was too heavy to be helped, and eventually many Southeast Asian countries issued regulations to ban the import of "foreign garbage".
After all, the earth is so big, and there are only so many countries that can "recycle garbage", and it is impossible for them to hand over "foreign garbage" from the land to the landlocked countries of Central Asia or Central Africa.
A few years ago, Sri Lanka, an island country in South Asia, wanted to import some waste mattresses and blankets from the United Kingdom to recycle cotton, which is already the most environmentally friendly recycling industry.
But the British have their own strategy, they did not give Sri Lanka qualified waste blankets, and when they arrived at the port, they learned that the dozens of containers were filled with medical waste that the British did not want to dispose of, and even various medicines and patients' blood and body fluids were mixed in infusion pipelines, ostomy bags, disposable medical gloves, masks and other waste.
There is no lower limit, and it is only then that we realize that the truth behind the fact that the developed countries look so clean and tidy is that they have handed over the responsibility of cleaning up the garbage to others.
As for how to deal with the "garbage" in the West now, we don't know the specific situation, only that in recent years, those developed countries are still "racking their brains" to send "foreign garbage to China", and in the first half of 2023, Shenzhen Customs will return 1,032 tons of "foreign garbage";
In October 2023 and April 15, 2024, the customs of Shanghai Gaoqiao Port District detected a total of more than 60 tons of "foreign garbage", which is simply infuriating.
epilogue
In the process of our development and reform, the import of "foreign garbage" is only a temporary move, however, it is not a law that is "not easy for eternity", and no nation or country wants to rely on the "garbage" of foreigners for eternity.
Now we have banned all foreign garbage, but also because we feel that we should cherish our lucid waters and green mountains, the relevant departments of the state have also conducted research on this industrial chain, timely industrial upgrading, with the development of the times and continuous progress of enterprises have long been rid of the shackles of "foreign garbage".
Now it's the foreigners' turn to have a headache and collapse, but if their extravagant and wasteful consumption habits don't change, I wonder if they will be able to laugh in a stinking environment?
Do you still know what commendable practices the mainland has made for the sake of development, and you are welcome to express your opinions!
The sources in this article are from:
1. "1,032 tons of "foreign garbage" returned by Shenzhen Customs in the first half of the year", Jintai Information, the official account of People's Daily Online Selected Information, released on July 11, 2023;
2. "Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port Customs Detects 50 Tons of Foreign Garbage", Xiaoxiang Times, released on April 15, 2024;
3. "Overseas Want to Send 'Foreign Garbage' to China? It's Too Disgusting After Identification!Shanghai Port: Where to Go Back and Forth", Jiefang Times, October 26, 2023;
4. "Why can foreign garbage "cross the ocean" and how to block the entry of foreign garbage?", Global Network, released on August 2, 2017;
5. "Visiting Guangdong Foreign Garbage Clothing: Sold to All Parts of the Country through a Large Number of Vendors", CCTV "Economic Half Hour", released on October 19, 2009;
6. "After China took the lead in refusing foreign garbage, the West complained repeatedly", "Europe's annual million tons of e-waste flows to Asia and Africa" overseas network - reference news, released on April 5, 2019, released on April 25, 2023;
7. "Sri Lanka Returns 3,000 Tons of Foreign Garbage to the UK" CCTV News Client of China Central Radio and Television, released on February 21, 2022, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!