The Changing World of e-Waste
China Tightens Up
The big news this year is China’s ban on the imported recyclables, focused on paper and plastic wasted. But China has been cleaning up its act for years, including revising laws to make the import of e-waste more difficult.
At the beginning of the century, China was the largest importer of e-waste in the world. As environmental and health impacts mounted, the Chinese government began to enact e-waste laws, some going back over a decade. Enforcement, however, was always a problem, and most e-waste processing continued illegally.
Today, however, as China moves to address waste imports in general, e-waste recycling has felt the pressure too. A recent revision of Chinese law classified circuit boards as hazardous waste, resulting in some Chinese e-waste recyclers going out of business.
Once choked with the smell of burning metal and noxious fumes from more than 5,000 family-run recycling shops, China’s Guiyu township is today a cleaner and healthier place according to the South China Morning Post.
Where Does e-Waste Go Now?
As China’s economy grows beyond importing waste for a living, East and South-East Asia have now taken on the role of the world’s e-waste dumping ground. According to United Nations University, electronic waste in this area has increased 63% in just five years.
With China out of the picture, exporting nations began finding willing recyclers in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, then quickly overwhelmed them with enormous amounts of plastic scrap and e-waste.
Where Can You Find a Zero Waste Guarantee?
At Protec Recycling, we make it our business to be a part of the solution to electronic waste.
We even have a “zero waste” guarantee. Our mission is to recover, recycle, and repurpose electronics, offering our customers environmentally sustainable, cost effective, and confidential disposal of their electronic assets.
Would you like to work with Protec Recycling? It’s easy, give us a call at 205-549-2120, or visit our Contact Us page today!
