Implications of China’s foreign waste ban on the global circular economy

Qu, Shen; Guo, Yuhua; Ma, Zijie; Chen, Weiqiang; Liu, Jianguo; Liu, Gang; Wang, Yutao; Xu, Min

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.004

Cited by 176 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…CE as an alternate model for more sustainable production and consumption has emerged over the past several decades as an opportunity for economic, social, and environmental sustainability ( Stahel, 2016 ); it has been established in multi-level supply chain systems ( Nandi, Hervani, and Helms, 2020 ), at regional levels ( Vanhamäki, 2020 ) and also by some nations and governments, including the European Union ( Hartley et al., 2020 ) and China ( Qu et al., 2019 ). CE is also seen as the future economic model to establish the foundation for a green economy .…”

Section: The Circular Economy and Blockchain Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Redesigning Supply Chains using Blockchain-Enabled Circular Economy and COVID-19 Experiences

Nandi

Sarkis

Hervani

et al. 2021

Sustainable Production and Consumption

365

268

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The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed businesses and societies to the shortfalls of normal patterns of production, consumption, and their long-lasting impact on supply chains. In this opinion paper, we provide insights from the COVID-19 pandemic for making supply chains more resilient, transparent, and sustainable. These insights include supply chains needing to develop localization, agility, and digitization (LAD) characteristics. We link LAD to a potential solution using blockchain technology and circular economy principle capabilities. Use cases are used to show how blockchain-enabled circular economy practices can support supply chain LAD efforts. Supply chain tracking, tracing, and responsiveness can be supported through blockchain-enabled circular economy practices. One result of identifying these relationships include solutions and insights at multiple levels and stakeholders – individual, organizational, supply chain, governmental, and community. These crisis-related observations and findings set a future research foundation for sustainable production and consumption.

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Section: The Circular Economy and Blockchain Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Redesigning Supply Chains using Blockchain-Enabled Circular Economy and COVID-19 Experiences

Nandi

Sarkis

Hervani

et al. 2021

Sustainable Production and Consumption

365

268

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, the Basel Convention has not strongly affected the international plastic trade market as it should be/as we wish 10 , 11 , because it didn’t offer a clear definition of hazardous waste and some major waste exporters refused to sign on to it. The treatment system and technical advancement of plastic waste management differ between countries, that is, waste disposal in developing countries is often at a higher environmental cost 6 and it is hard to intuitively judge whether such waste trade flows are globally sustainable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

China’s plastic import ban increases prospects of environmental impact mitigation of plastic waste trade flow worldwide

et al. 2021

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Since the late 1990s, the trend of plastic waste shipment from developed to developing countries has been increasing. In 2017, China announced an unprecedented ban on its import of most plastic waste, resulting in a sharp decline in global plastic waste trade flow and changes in the treatment structure of countries, whose impacts on global environmental sustainability are enormous but yet unexamined. Here, through the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, we quantified the environmental impacts of changes in the flow patterns and treatment methods of 6 types of plastic waste in 18 countries subsequent to the ban. In the short term, the ban significantly improved four midpoint indicators of environmental impact, albeit contributed to global warming. An annual saving of about 2.35 billion euros of eco-cost was realized, which is equivalent to 56% of plastic waste global trade value in 2017. To achieve global environmental sustainability in the long run, countries should gradually realize the transition from export to domestic management, and from landfill to recycling, which would realize eco-costs savings of about 1.54–3.20 billion euros.

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“…In the twentieth century, because of the technological development and population growth, a waste management program was developed by the Royal Act in 1992 (Hugo 14 juillet 1992 ) . Due to the obligations of the Royal Art, the rate of waste storage in France decreased from 43% in the 2000s to 26% in 2013 (Qu et al 2019 ). As shown in Fig.…”

Section: Ce In Francementioning

confidence: 99%

Circular Economy: a Comparison Between the Case of Singapore and France

et al. 2021

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Nowadays, due to the continuous developments in economies, various dilemmas are emerging, including energy demand, waste management, and greenhouse gas emissions (GHE). A promising approach to address these issues is a transition toward a circular economy (CE), and one of its successful approaches is the waste-to-energy (WTE). By exploiting WTE, there will be less demand for raw materials and resources. In this study, two developed countries, including France and Singapore, are evaluated based on their CE transition using the WTE method. Both countries are developing rapidly in terms of a successful CE. Reducing landfills as the major problem in Singapore is one of the most vital plans in their CE project. The planned target in Singapore is reducing landfill by 30% by 2030. Furthermore, Singapore aims for reaching a 70% recycling rate by 2050. On the other hand, the CE in France includes more comprehensive laws in four different sectors, such as production, consumption, waste management, and mobilizing actors. It is planned that by 2025, the recycling rate in France will reach 100%. A roadmap toward building a CE cannot be succeeded unless some practical strategies are developed for overcoming the encountered obstacles. The roadmap of both countries shows a specific milestone to reach a better CE, cleaner environment, and less use of natural resources. Most of the Singapore sustainable plans are planned to be caught by 2030, while France is trying to complete them by 2025. It should be noted that due to the current pandemic situation caused by COVID-19, there are some issues in implementing the obligations and plans thoroughly.

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Implications of China’s foreign waste ban on the global circular economy

Cited by 176 publications

References 10 publications

Redesigning Supply Chains using Blockchain-Enabled Circular Economy and COVID-19 Experiences

Redesigning Supply Chains using Blockchain-Enabled Circular Economy and COVID-19 Experiences

China’s plastic import ban increases prospects of environmental impact mitigation of plastic waste trade flow worldwide

Circular Economy: a Comparison Between the Case of Singapore and France

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