Outline

Name: ---
Major: International Relations
Topic: China import ban and Global Waste Trade
Research Question Type: Cause/Effect
Main Research Question: After the China waste import ban, how does the global waste
trade between developed countries and Asian-Pacific countries being impacted?
Business Economics/International Relations subfield: Culture and Society
Audience: Students and people interested in global environmental issue

I. Introduction
A. Hook

Have you ever imagined that plastic would no longer be on Earth? Plastic is a prominent
element which is present everywhere in life. Bags, straws, bottles or glasses, toys, etc., are all
made from this material and people use them as a habit. The process after the plastic is released
into the environment can produce more toxic substances that can extend the decomposition time
up to 400 years (Parker, 2019). Also, according to Parker (2019), littoral countries drop about 8
million tons of used or discarded plastic annually. This has been destroying the ecological
environment and aquatic animals. Obviously, humans are not out of the list of those being
affected by plastic waste pollution.

B. Brief background of the topic focused on the main RQ type

In 2017, more than 200 million tons of household waste was generated by China. At the
same time, 34 million tons of plastic and paper waste were also sent here from industrial
countries (“A rubbish history”, 2019). China acted as a needle in the middle to balance global
waste exchange over the past decades. However, this system would be more efficient if China
produces less waste. However, being the most populous country in the world today with more
than 1.4 billion people, the demand for Chinese plastic is very high. That means the possibility of
environmental and human health getting worse will increase if not prevented. Recognizing this
serious problem, the Chinese Government issued a ban on importing 24 types of waste in July
2017 and officially came into effect in January 2018. Maynard (2018) cited two reasons for
stopping China's imports: the overload of non-recyclable waste sent and the steady increase in
domestic waste.

C. Thesis
 Although China's ban is creating an imbalance in the world which resulted in the race for
developed countries to dump garbage into Asia Pacific countries, it could be a catalyst for all
countries seeking to reform their waste treatment systems for a more sustainable waste trade.

II. Background
A. General background - Operation of the global waste trade before the ban.
Members of the global waste trade operated with the goal of upholding their own
interests rather than the common purpose.

1. Example/support:

As Wang et al. (2020) noted, waste exchange in the world often happens like "an
underground operation" with corruption and falsification of real data, but bringing economic and
commercial value to some relevant countries.

2. Example/support:

Basically, waste is traded between countries in the form of acquisition, recycling or use
as raw materials for production (Gregson & Crang, 2018).
3. Example / support:
As Brooks, Wang and Jambeck (2018) pointed out, importing waste gained benefits both
for China as a raw material supply for production and for exporters as a less expensive way to
handle trash.

B. Specific background - China from the central position of the global waste trade to the
ban
Although China could benefit the manufacturing industry from imported waste, it decided
to leave the central position of the global waste trade and prioritize domestic waste with a
ban.

1. Example/support

Brooks et al. (2018) described that China accounts for 45% of world trash imports and
more than 70% if counting the amount received from Hong Kong.
2. Example/support
According to Huang et al. (2020), the premise of the ban is the "Green Fence", a
campaign that has helped China eliminate more than 1.43 million tons of illegal plastic waste
within a year since 2013.

C. Research Motivation
Environment is always an alarming issue. On social media, images are shared every few
weeks: deers with nylon bags stuck on horns, whales dying from swallowing too much trash on
their bellies. Recently, I have read an article about how my country Vietnam finds it very
complicated to dispose of medical waste from the pandemic. In particular, medical masks are
difficult to decompose in the environment but are thrown everywhere or collected but not yet
processed. Thus, I searched and first heard about the global waste trade, in which Vietnam is
involved. I have known that waste disposal is a difficult task but I do not know there are links
between many countries on this issue. Moreover, after learning about the ban of China and my
country, I wonder how this will affect Vietnam and the others.

III. Body
A. Supplemental Question/Theme 1

How did the import ban impact developed countries?

1. The causes of export waste

a. example/support

Brooks et al. (2018) identified that developed countries prefer to export waste even
though they had better conditions because the cost of management and transportation will be
lower when the waste is processed abroad.
b. example/support
Because China is almost acquiring imported waste, and more countries in Asia-Pacific
want to get recycled materials to produce instead of purchasing, developed countries become
subjective because of available conditions instead of investing in waste treatment facilities
(Wang et al., 2020).
2. The positive response

a. example/support

Ren et al. (2020) showed that the amount of waste that G7 countries export to China has
decreased from 60% to less than 10% just one year after the ban.
b. example/support
Wang et al. (2019) pointed out four main points of Europe’s action after the ban: “improving the
economics and quality of plastics recycling, curbing plastic waste and littering, driving
investment and innovation towards circular economy solutions, harnessing global action”.
3. The problems still exist
a. example/support
Huang et al. (2020) points to an example that Latvia, which belongs to the EU, is
considered an intermediary for exporting waste because it transfers nearly 900 tons of plastic
waste to China, although it does not produce much.
Huang et al. (2020) analyzed that Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea are heavily
dependent on waste imports into China, accounting for 39.9%, 34%, 19% and 16.4%
respectively. This ratio indicates the urgency in finding "alternative landfills" or improving waste
management.
b. example/support
As Gregson and Crang (2018) indicated, the conflict between the government and local
trade executives in the UK lies largely in their belief that the waste collection and disposal
system for recycling is poor.

B. Supplemental Question/Theme 2
How did the import ban impact to Asia-Pacific countries

1. The cause of import waste

a. example/support

As analyzed by He et al. (2018), a high correlation results in a negative outcome that as

the amount of waste exported to China decreases from the Green Fence campaign to the ban, the
Asia-Pacific countries will become the next waste importers.
b. example/support
According to an analysis by Gregson and Crang (2018),The relocation of recycling
factories to Asia after the ban was a result of China's investment adjustment because of the easy
passage of imported waste along with low facilities and technology costs.
2. These countries have a potential to become the next biggest importer

a. example/support

Leung (2019) pointed out that Malaysia has potential to become the biggest importer
where China was looking for an ideal recycling point. “The country’s imports rose five-fold to
about 110,000 tons per month following China’ ban” (Leung, 2019, para.10).
b. example/support
“Since 2016, the importation of plastic wastes has increased by over 100% in India,
Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia” (Wang et al., 2019, p. 73 ).
3. Countries have expressed a strict attitude about returning waste

a. example/support

According to Leung (2019), Malaysia’ Premier mentioned the word “grossly unfair”
since they cannot both handle their own garbage and other countries at the same time
b. example/support
The three countries Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia respectively imposed a temporary
ban on the import of plastic waste in 2018, that Wang et al. (2020) speculate the shake of the
waste trade because of the withdrawal of many importers.
C. Supplemental Question/Theme 3
Import bans pose some challenges to member countries
 1. The negative effects to the environment
a. example/support

The decline of wildlife is due to the absorption of toxins from plastic waste by the
digestive tract (Huang et al., 2020).
b. example/support
According to Ren et al. (2020), the amount of toxic gases emitted when making pet fibers
in coal is much more than recycling, leading to a higher risk of air pollution.
2. China also faces recycling issues.

a. example/support

China's difficulty in controlling factory processes in neighboring countries and omission

of the processing system could be a potential danger even if China despite the ban (He et al.,
2018).
b. example/support
The demand for recycling PET bottles from Chinese domestic consumption before the
ban is below 90%. That backfired after banning imports due to a shortage of recycled materials ,
leading to finding alternative raw materials or reducing the demand for PET bottles. (Ren et al.,
2020).
3. Waste management and recycling system has not yet completed its task

a. example/support

According to Rajendran et al. (2019), many countries choose to bury their waste instead
of treat it because of the lack of financial support from the government
b. example/support
According to Wang et al. (2019), percentage of plastic waste is recycled only one tenth of
the amount produced, resulting in it being dumped into the sea and very difficult to decompose.
As Wang et al. (2019) analyzed, If the waste situation is not resolved, more than 25 tons of waste
will be accumulated by 2050 and half of it will be untreated.

IV. Discussion

To address these challenges, we must first look at the positive that the ban has brought to
China and this global trade. The amount of waste in China has witnessed a positive change. As
Wang et al. (2019) mentioned that U.S. trash exports to China only dropped by one tenth after
the ban. As a result, China can narrow the scope of its settlement, focusing on the situation of
domestic waste. This is also an opportunity for both developed and developing countries to
consider and correct their waste treatment capabilities. Regarding the shortage of recycled raw
materials in China, “Recycled PET fiber in exporting countries reduces major air pollutant
emissions by 44–67% as compared to the recycled PET fiber in China, partly owing to the
cleaner power supply in developed countries and partly because of the avoided carbon emission
from shipping post- consumer PET bottles to China ”(Ren et al., 2020, p. 4). This example can
show us the potential for linkages between countries in the global waste trade. China needs to
have safe materials for producing PET bottles to serve the needs of people. Developed countries
have the ability to do so. The problem now is that they are struggling with their own garbage.
Excessive dependence in the past made exporting countries unable to meet the immediate need
for waste treatment. I think it will be easier if China can loosen the ban. This does not mean that
all imports are reverted, but there is a need for strict rules on what type of waste is imported.
China should be limited to recyclables and industrial uses. Meanwhile, this helps to extend the
time for the preparation work of the remaining countries. He et al. (2019) argued that global
cooperation is essential and developed countries should provide technical and legal support to
developing countries. Developed countries should realize that rather than relying on them, they
are more likely to solve this problem than in the Asia-Pacific countries because they are clearly
large countries, they have sufficient financial resources and more conditions on every aspect.
This reduces the burden of waste treatment in Asia-Pacific countries, which also generates a lot
of waste. In addition, it links each relationship between countries, without creating hostility. This
is an important factor to maintain a trade exchange. Waste exchange is not a bad thing if it is
operated properly. Members of this trade should operate in a combination of both private and
common interests. This means that countries cooperate and support each other with the necessary
conditions so that they can solve their problems independently without depending or throwing to
the others.

V. Conclusion

A. Restatement of Thesis
The fact that countries are racing to improve their waste treatment capacity and gradually
bring the waste trade into balance is the result of the import waste ban's effects on developed
countries and Asia-Pacific countries and the difficulties of this trade off in general.

B. Summary of main points/supplemental questions/themes based on evidence

- Although developed countries have positive changes in the situation, attitudes and
regulations in reducing waste, they are still unable to manage the amount of waste they
produce.
- The Asia-Pacific countries have made great efforts to eliminate illegal imports from
outside but still lack domestic handling conditions.
- The amount of waste has not stopped due to the ban is detrimental to both the
environment and the waste management of China and other member countries in this trade.

C. Restatement of “Research Importance” “I Say”

 The global waste trade industry, like all other exchanges, works for the benefit of everyone.
Countries should not only think of their own goals but should create conditions for each other to
bring the best results to all. Things like China enacting a ban or developed countries dumping
garbage into the Asia-Pacific region are only a temporary solution to the confusion in each
country. Members should adhere to the so-called "global" criteria when they have decided to join
this trade exchange to be able to create a win-win situation.

D. Call to action or prediction for the future.

The win-win situation that I am talking about here is not only among importers and
exporters. Trade exists to serve the interests of the people. The exchange of waste is not just a
business between countries in general, it is everyone's business. Humans have created plastic
waste. China cannot be blamed entirely on banning imports from being a waste that cannot find a
destination. We cannot say that the marine and terrestrial environment or human health is in
danger for the sole reason that countries send garbage to landfills, dump it in the ocean or
incinerate it. It is we humans who created this problem. People are turning into their own
victims. China created an import ban because it wanted to protect the health of its people and the
environment. But they are also stuck by the needs of the Chinese people. The more people, the
more wastes. A country needs to have a permanent population to develop, not a "permanent
amount of garbage”. The most effective way for this problem is probably to improve one's
consciousness. Of course, the administration of the state with the laws is required, people should
control their own behavior. When countries guide and announce the classification of waste,
people should follow it. A good way is to avoid plastic-containing products as much as possible,
especially disposable plastic products and recycle anything you can do. This also requires the
government to gradually replace materials like plastics with more organic materials. People's
consciousness is not discriminating between nations. It is global and everyone has a common
goal. When the people well perform their duties, leaders will do their best to maintain a
sustainable global waste trade.
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