[Global Times Report Reporter Bai Yunyi and Liang Rui] Editor's Note: On October 21, the anti-smuggling departments of the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei customs signed a framework agreement on anti-smuggling cooperation. Data shows that the anti-smuggling departments of the three customs have investigated 424 cases of smuggling "foreign garbage" in the past 10 years and seized 1.355 million tons of solid waste. Since the beginning of this year, the cargo throughput of many ports across the country has continued to grow, and various harmful "foreign garbage" goods have been continuously seized in many places. In fact, my country has completely banned the entry of solid waste since 2021. Many other developing countries, especially Southeast Asian countries, have also begun to say no to "foreign garbage", but this problem continues to be proscribed repeatedly. According to a reporter from the Global Times, there is a high-profit and low-risk criminal chain behind this, as well as the irresponsible practices of some developed countries that attempt to use "garbage colonialism" to reduce waste treatment costs. Some experts told reporters that for developed countries,"it is useless to just shout environmental slogans, and they must also shoulder their morality and responsibility."
"Those places with the strictest environmental laws are also the places that export the most waste to poor countries."
"Foreign garbage" mainly refers to waste produced in production and life in other countries or regions with low recycling value, including untreated biological products, domestic waste, medical waste, various industrial waste liquids and residues, and some Waste electronic products or spare parts, etc. Although some items have certain reuse value, they ultimately lose more than the gain because they do not meet environmental standards and may release toxic and harmful heavy metals, organic chemicals, and radioactive substances during processing and utilization.
It is worth noting that in September last year, Mawei Customs, a subsidiary of Fuzhou Customs, seized 2 tons of frozen chicken feet with unknown origin, no quarantine certificate, and expired before arrival, and reminded the public that according to my country's "General Rules for the Identification of Solid Wastes"(GB 34330-2017),"Substances that cannot be sold, circulated or used according to their original use because they have exceeded the quality guarantee period" are all foreign garbage. "Foreign garbage" such as chicken feet and trotters will not only pollute the environment, but may also cause harm to people's personal health.
In recent years, the "foreign garbage" problem has caused trouble in many countries around the world. "141 containers filled with plastic waste have been drifting for more than a year. These containers are scattered in Turkey, Greece and Vietnam, far from their origin in Germany." The British "Guardian" told such a "garbage drifting story" in its report. Reported that the containers arrived in Turkey at the end of 2020, shortly before the country's import ban on mixed plastic waste came into effect, so these containers quickly became the focus of "wrangling" among traders, shipping companies, multinational governments and environmental activists. "Many people demanded that the garbage be returned, and the Turkish government refused to accept it. As time went by, unattended waste gradually rotted in Turkish ports, dirty waste began to ferment, the smell was very bad, and the containers were full of mice."
Coincidentally, according to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, in July this year, a ship carrying 102 containers in Albania departed from the port of Durres in the country. After arriving in Thailand, its contents were prohibited from landing. So the goods were transported back to Albania, the country of origin, but were again refused to land and are still stranded at sea. Reports said that the contents of these containers came from a Turkish steel factory in central Albania. Sokolaj, another Albania company, bought the waste, resold it to its subsidiary in Croatia, and then exported it to Thailand for processing. Sokolaj listed the waste as non-toxic "iron oxide", a non-embargoed substance, but later it was reported that the container also contained toxic waste, triggering a rejection from Thailand.
The Guardian believes that the "fantasy drift" of these containers loaded with garbage is only the tip of the iceberg of the global plastic waste trade. It is the "dark side" of the garbage recycling industry in developed countries around the world. According to reports, mixed plastics are the dirtiest and least popular of all wastes because they often contain garbage such as bottles and packaging boxes, mixing recyclable and non-recyclable items.
"The transfer of plastic waste from countries of the 'Global North' to places dominated by countries of the 'Global South' constitutes a new form of colonialism in the 21st century." The book "Trade in Plastic Waste: A New Method of Pollution Transfer Colonialism" writes. The book argues that whether it is legal or illegal trade in plastic waste, it can have a devastating impact on the ecosystems, workers and communities of receiving countries, and emphasizes that countries that receive waste are often less capable of disposing of waste than countries that export it.
"Garbage colonialism"-The Guardian uses this term to describe all kinds of garbage, represented by plastic, exported by the West to the world. According to reports, the United Kingdom, Germany and other countries are major exporters of plastic waste. "Germany was once rated as the world's top plastic recycling country by the World Economic Forum, but it also exports about 1 million tons of plastic waste every year, more than any other country in the European Union. The UK is not much better. According to the British Plastics Foundation, 61% of Britain's plastic waste is exported to other countries."
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun believes that by exporting garbage, rich countries can not only save on processing costs, but also "outsource" problems. From a company's perspective, it often costs higher costs to ensure that waste can be treated in a manner that meets the environmental regulations of the country where it is located. As a result, many companies export waste to other countries with less stringent environmental standards, with destinations mainly including Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and West Africa. From a national perspective, the Guardian reported that plastic waste is usually only treated in two ways: incineration and landfill, but incineration creates a carbon footprint, so some countries that want to reduce carbon emissions are reluctant to burn their own waste. As a result, major European waste-producing countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany "export waste to poor countries without effective waste management systems or environmental regulations. This is garbage colonialism."
"Ironically, those places with the strictest environmental laws are also the places that export the most waste to poor countries." A report from Unwaste, a United Nations project aimed at combating waste trafficking between the European Union and Southeast Asia, said. According to the United Nations Basel Convention, exporting countries must obtain the consent of the receiving country before transporting "contaminated, mixed or plastic waste that does not meet environmental requirements" to the receiving country for recycling, and the receiving country has the right to refuse. In addition, the latest amendment to the Convention also stipulates that starting from November 2026, the EU will no longer be allowed to export plastic waste to non-OECD countries. The report believes that this may bring some changes, but as of now, the EU is still the world's largest exporter of plastic waste.
"A high-profit, low-risk criminal activity"
"From Indonesia to Myanmar, Southeast Asia is being flooded with imported waste." "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" reported on this topic that according to United Nations data, although Southeast Asian countries have less than 9% of the world's population, they received 17% of the world's plastic waste imports between 2017 and 2021. "Unlike metal recycling, plastic recycling is more difficult and can be reused. Many plastics imported for recycling are actually simply dumped." According to the report, this means that millions of tons of garbage end up in developing countries that have difficulty even disposing of their own garbage, placing a heavy burden on them.
Data released by the Tokyo-based Asian Network for Preventing Illegal Cross-Border Movements of Hazardous Wastes shows that between 2017 and 2019, Laos 'imports of plastic waste increased more than 25 times, and its sources include Canada, Japan, the United States and some European Union countries. However, Laos does not have a mature waste recycling industry itself.
The situation in Myanmar is also not optimistic. "Myanmar's magnificent Irrawaddy River is already one of the most plastic-polluted rivers in the world." The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that some tourists to a small town northwest of Yangon found that the fields where local residents collected green vegetables were now filled with plastic waste, some of which had labels showing it came from Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
According to PBS, taking 2021 as an example, the United States exported 950 million tons of plastic waste, most of which went to Southeast Asia. Thailand only produces about 02 million tons of plastic waste every year, but the country's recycling system is overwhelmed due to the continuous inflow of plastic waste from the United States. Simachaya, director of the Thailand Environmental Research Institute, said that only 25% of the plastic waste flowing into the country is sent to recycling plants to make recycled plastic particles, and the remaining 75% goes into landfills or is dumped in the open. A large amount of garbage dumped in the open flows into the ocean along rivers, polluting Thailand's bays and coastline.
Faced with the heavy environmental burden and social problems caused by "foreign garbage", Southeast Asian countries have stepped up measures in recent years. For example, Thailand plans to completely ban the import of plastic waste in 2025, and Malaysia has also announced a recycling fee on waste plastic starting in 2021. But despite this, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that the phenomenon of garbage trafficking still persists. Some analysts believe that Southeast Asia's river systems, long archipelago coastline, and weak environmental supervision and management systems exacerbate this problem.
An article published by the Basel Institute on Governance analyzed that economic interests are one of the reasons why the trafficking of "foreign garbage" is so serious. The article quoted data from the Group of Seven (G7) Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering as saying that illegal waste smuggling generates annual profits of as high as US$10 billion to US$12 billion, even comparable to other major criminal areas such as human trafficking. Organized criminal groups in some countries are entering this market due to huge profits.
"This is a high-profit, low-risk criminal activity." "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" quoted Masood Karimpur, representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, as saying that the flow of "foreign garbage" often involves fraud and concealment of customs data. "One of the reasons why waste smuggling is relatively risky is that the supervision of it in many countries does not fall within the scope of criminal law, but within the scope of civil and administrative regulations. This means that even if you violate these rules blatantly and on a massive scale, the penalties will be small." "By the way, you have to be caught first before you face these minor penalties," Karimpur said.
"Developed countries must shoulder their morality and responsibilities"
In March 2022, the resumed session of the Fifth United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a historic resolution, deciding to develop a legally binding international instrument on plastic pollution, including plastic pollution in the marine environment, namely "Global Plastics Convention." At the end of April this year, the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Global Plastics Convention (INC-4) concluded in Ottawa, Canada. More than 2500 representatives from 170 United Nations Member States and more than 480 observer organizations participated in this round of negotiations, which is the largest and most widely participated INC negotiation to date.
"It is time to end 'garbage colonialism' through the Global Plastics Convention." The US "Diplomatic Scholars" website published a commentary saying that developed countries need to stop exporting their plastic waste to Asian countries in the name of "recycling." At the same time, there is a need to develop a global plastics treaty that focuses on upstream binding measures, establish strict standards to ensure the safe management of plastic waste, and improve the Basel Convention to enhance its governance and enforcement capabilities. Only by doing this can we form the best solution to effectively deal with plastic pollution.
Liu Jianguo, a professor at the Institute of Solid Waste Control and Resource Utilization at the School of Environment, Tsinghua University, told the Global Times reporter that as of now, the overall pattern of global transfer of "foreign waste" from developed countries to developing countries has not changed significantly, mainly because the differences in the status of the two in the global industrial division of labor still exist. Developed countries are more focused on industries with higher added value such as R & D, creation, and high-end manufacturing, while industries with lower added value and labor-intensive such as waste recycling and recycling flow to developing countries.
"Developing countries have relatively low labor costs, environmental emission standards and regulatory requirements, which are also quite attractive to these industries. Therefore, although many countries have taken measures to ban or prepare to ban the import of 'foreign waste', the division of labor in the above-mentioned industries has not changed fundamentally. The pattern has not changed fundamentally, and the pressure on garbage transfer in developed countries still exists." Liu Jianguo said.
Liu Jianguo believes that Southeast Asian countries are now facing a situation similar to that of China 10 or even 20 years ago. As China's position in the global industrial chain increases and bans the import of solid waste, waste from developed countries will inevitably flow to other countries. The fundamental way to solve this problem is to make the international industrial division of labor more balanced and improve the economic development level and regulatory capabilities of developing countries.
"For developed countries, it is useless to just shout environmental slogans. They must also shoulder their morality and responsibility. On the one hand, we should strengthen the supervision of waste exports, especially those that cannot export waste to countries that obviously do not have the ability to regulate treatment and utilization; on the other hand, developed countries should also establish more high-quality domestic waste processing, recycling and utilization systems, rather than blindly pursue cost minimization and pass these burdens on to developing countries." Liu Jianguo said.
