China fired up over recycling

Sydney Morning Herald reports that rubbish from Europe‘‘s recycling bins is being transported halfway across the world to blight China‘‘s booming coastal cities, usually in plumes of acrid black smoke. Its fate is said to be very different from that imagined by conscientious householders when they sift through the detritus of their daily lives and sort it into separate piles for “environmentally friendly” disposal. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic and other waste is exported to China from Europe to be picked over in local homes or burnt in bonfires. The rise in pollution has political repercussions. Outrage at the chemical industry near the south-eastern city of Dongyang last week provoked riots by farmers.



A village near Dongyang is still under the control of the protesters, with police staying away as residents show off captured uniforms and riot shields as trophies. The protesters, led by elderly women, claim pollution is causing higher rates of cancer, deformed births and miscarriages. AdvertisementAdvertisement The streets of Dongyang, piled high with plastic, resemble a cross between a junkyard and modern installation art. In front rooms, women cut up plastic with scissors, removing tags and zips for 20 yuan (US$3) a day.



Transporting the rubbish between Europe and China is cheap. Without it, container ships would return to China empty after delivering consumer goods to the West. Daolang Industry and Trade Company, in nearby Pan‘‘an, advertises for rubbish on websites and buys plastic bottles from three British clients. “Importing is cheaper even than using domestic recycled bottles,” said the company manager, Jin Yang.



Dongyang workers say the businesses must have environmental licences, but one said he could not remember an inspection. The result is a devastated environment. Chen Qixian, from the Dongyang council, said the council had strict rules but it did not have the resources to enforce them. Companies discharged noxious gases at night when no one was watching, he said, a particular complaint of the protesters. At a bonfire near town, Li, a 68-year-old farmer, combs through the ashes. Even for burnt rubber there may be a market. Li sorts through it to find what he can sell and burns the rest. Has anyone come to check on what he does? “Never,” he said