China pulls out of deal accepting NZ waste
A Chinese environmental crackdown means $21 million of New Zealand waste a year now has to find a new home – much of it in another developing country.
A Chinese ban on foreign waste came into effect on January 1, meaning all plastic, slag, unsorted waste paper and textiles once sent there for recycling have to go somewhere else.
The Ministry for the Environment’s most recent figures show we sent $21m worth of waste to China in 2016, made up of $8.2m of plastic, $3.1m of slag, and $9.7m of paper.
‘‘It is yet to be seen how New Zealand markets will respond to the import ban, but previous options have included improving onshore processing, and finding alternative overseas markets,’’ a ministry statement said.
The Chinese notification, issued in July, said the country forbade the importation of 24 kinds of solid waste, including plastics, waste from living sources, vanadium slag, unsorted waste paper and waste textiles.
The ban was to protect the environment, as well as human, animal, and plant health, it said.
Wellington city councillor Iona Pannett, the infrastructure and sustainability portfolio leader, said China’s initiative was ‘‘fantastic’’.
But the capital’s recycling that had previously been sent to China would now probably go to countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. ‘‘I have concerns about the rich West exporting its waste to these countries.’’
It was better for it to be recycled there than risk it ending up in landfills or oceans, she said.
But the overseas recycling process had its own problems, including the environmental impact of shipping, what happened to any environmental waste, and the concern that anything that was not recycled would become landfill in that country.
‘‘Doing it locally, you have a much better environmental impact,’’ Pannett said. The best solution was New Zealand simply creating less waste.
A 2016 Ocean Conservancy report showed that China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam between them accounted for 60 per cent of the plastic waste that ended up in oceans.
City councils around New Zealand have been asked how they were responding to the Chinese ban.
The Wellington council dealt with 740 tonnes of plastic in 2017, of which 578 tonnes went to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and China, while the rest was recycled in Lower Hutt.
Wellington’s paper, cardboard, and glass was recycled in New Zealand.
Auckland Council waste manager Parul Sood said: ‘‘ We are aware of this issue and we are working closely with our industry partners and our contractor who sorts recycling, and will continue to monitor recycling markets.’’
The situation would not affect residential recycling. Visy, which contracts to do the council’s recycling, did not send plastics to China, she said.
Christchurch City Council’s John Mackie said it was working on what to do with its waste as a result of the China changes. A business case would be brought to the council in early 2018.
Sending recyclables to landfill would be avoided, as it was contrary to its waste minimisation strategy, he said.
Hamilton City Council compliance manager Trent Fowles did not expect any changes to the city’s recycling.
‘‘Our contractors utilise a number of overseas markets where there is a demand for quality recyclable plastics, such as plastics 1 and 2. Our cardboard and glass recycling is handled by New Zealand-based businesses.’’
It was looking to expand its recycling to include all plastics.
Dunedin City Council’s Catherine Gledhill said all the city’s recyclables would continue to be sold.
‘‘If demand for recyclable products changes, our contractor has the ability to store recycling for a few months while searching for alternative markets. Product would only be sent to landfill if no market could be found.’’
This had not been needed in the past six years, she said.