Waste plastic exports squeezed by Chinese ban

Exporting nations caught without the capacity to recycle their scrap

20190322N Plastic pile

A woman sorts plastic bottles at a recycling center in Huaibei, China. © Reuters

KAZUHIRO KIDA and SARA SEKINE, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO/NEW YORK -- A Chinese embargo on scrap plastic imports has undercut shipments from developed nations to a low not seen in more than 13 years, a Nikkei study shows.

But because the waste is still being produced at the same levels, exporting countries are stuck with an accumulating and increasingly expensive problem.

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