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China’s ban on importing recyclable products

Posted:
Tuesday 01 May 2018
Please note the content of this news item is over six months old and may no longer be current.
Recycle China

There is no change to how people should recycle despite China’s ban on imported recyclable materials.

People in Marion should continue to use the three bin system as usual so that products are recycled correctly.

China introduced new standards on the quality of imported recyclable material in March 2018 which has impacted on recycling businesses in Australia.

Some organisations have had to find more expensive alternatives to process recyclable materials that would otherwise have been sent to China.

There have also been media reports of some councils in the eastern states sending recyclable products to landfill.

Marion’s recyclable products continue to be recycled, not sent to landfill.

What happens to Marion’s recyclable products?

The City of Marion contracts Cleanaway to collect and process about 8000 tonnes of recyclables each year.

Products are sent to a materials recovery facility in Wingfield.

Solo owns the recyclable materials it collects and is responsible for processing them.

Keep calm and keep recycling

Recycling waste is a global problem, to which there needs to be a global solution

 Remember to continue to ‘recycle right’ by placing items in the correct bins.

 Find out what items go in what bin see the City of Marion Three Bin System page.

Background

In 2017 China introduced its National Sword program to ban recyclable materials based on contamination thresholds.

Contamination can mean materials are dirty, or contain non-recyclable items.

China's new contamination standards are affecting parts of the Australian recycling industry that rely on it to process plastics, textiles and mixed paper.

More information about China’s policy is available at www.greenindustries.sa.gov.au/chinas-new-policy-on-waste-and-recycling