Material Flow Patterns of the Global Waste Paper Trade and Potential Impacts of China's Import Ban.
Environ Sci Technol
; 55(13): 8492-8501, 2021 07 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1315575
ABSTRACT
Waste paper, an essential substitute for wood and other plant-based fibers in paper making, is an indispensable part of the circular economy; yet, the impacts of China's ban on global waste paper cycles have not been well understood. We modeled the evolution of the global waste paper trade network during 1995-2019. We found that the cumulative trade volume of global waste paper reached 1010 million tons in the last 25 years and showed a downward trend since 2015. The global import center of waste paper experienced a transfer from Europe to East Asia and then to Southeast Asia. The ban has stimulated some developed countries to reduce the exports of unsorted waste paper since 2017, but for many major importers their changes in waste paper trade patterns were related to waste paperboard, which was not banned by China, suggesting that this import change trend may be inevitable and irrespective of China's ban. Besides, India has replaced China to become a new import hub of unsorted waste paper. Our results lay a foundation for exploring the evolution of the future global solid waste cycle under the background of zero import of solid waste increasingly implemented by China and many other developing countries.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Solid Waste
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
/
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Environ Sci Technol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Acs.est.1c00642
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