Global textile recycling threatened by new Chinese legislation

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Aug 24, 2017

The Chinese government has decided to ban the imports of solid waste destined for recycling. The decision relates to 24 materials including plastic, paper and textiles, equivalent to 70% of all waste shipped to China. According to recycling industry specialists, the measure could lead to a rise in the levels of textile waste, and severely endanger the industry itself.

The warning comes from the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), a US body which is an authority in the sector. ISRI underlined how Chinese legislation has gradually become more restrictive, intervening for example on neon lighting in 2007 and electronic products in 2013. Faced with a dramatic increase in domestically generated waste, Beijing’s objective is to avoid worsening China's environmental pollution through the import of waste from abroad.

For textiles, as for other materials, alternatives to China do actually exist. "Demand is increasing in India, South-East Asia and Latin America, but not at a level sufficient to cover for what we are shipping to China, wrote ISRI. Besides, we are currently unable to recycle all the waste generated in the USA without exporting some of it ourselves."

In 2016, China was the final destination for 27% of global waste exports, most of them coming from the USA, which last year alone shipped out $5.2 billion worth of materials. A model on which rest entire ecosystems of specialised companies in North America and Europe, collecting ever-increasing amounts of waste, as well as dedicated networks of operators throughout Asia.