China's top legislature is reviewing a draft amendment to the
law on the prevention of solid waste pollution to avoid the country
becoming the "world's largest dumping ground."?
The amendment was submitted for "first deliberation" to the 12th
meeting of the Standing Committee of the 10th National
People's Congress held from October 22 to 27.
While China is playing a greater role in the world's
manufacturing sector, experts have repeatedly warned that it also
risks becoming a dumping ground for garbage from overseas. Many
Chinese have been angry at the levels of waste being imported when
the country already has plenty of environmental problems of its
own.
"The rapid growth of the Chinese economy has resulted in a huge
market for foreign renewable resources, but China's current
regulations cannot maintain effective, systematic management,
providing too many opportunities for illegal trafficking," said
Wang Jiwei, general secretary of the renewable metal department of
China's Nonferrous Metal Association.
China imported 3 million tons of waste plastic in 2003 and 1.88
million additional tons in the first half of 2004, up 31 percent
compared to the same period last year.
Wang said the proper use of renewable resources like waste iron
can greatly reduce contamination and energy consumption -- both
vital, as China suffers from both increasing pollution and chronic
power shortages.
"How to take advantage of imported waste while effectively
preventing the entry of hazardous foreign waste is a major task of
China's legislature," Wang acknowledged.
Current regulations do not fully address the seriousness of the
situation and lack sufficient detail, said Zhang Lijun, director of
the State Environmental Protection Administration's pollution
control department.
According to the draft, all imported waste will be classified
into three kinds: non-importation, restricted import and automatic
approval, each of which will receive different legal treatment. All
imported waste will need to accord with official standards and must
receive government checks.
The draft adds clauses imposing criminal penalties on those
illegally trafficking imported waste and stipulates the
responsibilities of imported waste carriers if holders cannot be
identified.
It also includes an independent article stipulating the
procedure for resolving disputes between government departments and
importers.
"The draft amendment is expected to play a crucial role in
lessening the threat posed by imported waste to the country's
environment and health," said Zhang Lijun, whose department is in
charge of the law's implementation.
It is estimated that more than 500 million tons of toxic waste
is produced around the world annually, a growing portion of which
is being transferred to developing countries.
In order to tighten control over imported waste, China added new
clauses to its criminal law in 1997 and 2002, introducing
punishments to illegal waste importers and users.
China was one of the first countries to join the Basel
Convention on the control of cross-border movement and disposal of
hazardous waste.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2004)