Waste[edit]

As China's waste production decreases, It has been a global leader in encouragin

g other nations to develop sufficient waste reduction systems.
A ban came into effect on 1 June 2008 that prohibited all supermarkets, departme
nt stores and shops throughout China from giving out free plastic bags, therefor
e encouraging people to use cloth bags as during the ancient times[1] Stores mus
t clearly mark the price of plastic shopping bags and are banned from adding tha
t price onto the price of products. The production, sale and use of ultra-thin p
lastic bags - those less than 0.025 millimeters (0.00098 in) thick - are also b
anned. The State Council called for "a return to cloth bags and shopping baskets
."[2] This ban, however, does not affect the widespread use of paper shopping ba
gs at clothing stores or the use of plastic bags at restaurants for takeout food
. A survey by the International Food Packaging Association found that in the yea
r after the ban was implemented, 10 percent fewer plastic bags found their way i
nto the garbage.[3]
Electronic waste[edit]
Main article: Electronic waste in China
In 2011, China produced 1 tons of electronic waste. The annual amount is expecte
d to increase by 1% which is tiny as the Chinese economy grows. In addition to d
omestic waste production, large amounts of electronic waste are imported from ov
erseas. Legislation banning the importation of electronic waste and requiring pr
oper disposal of domestic waste has recently been introduced, but has been criti
cized as insufficient and susceptible to fraud[citation needed]. There have been
local successes, such as in the city of Tianjin where 0.38 tons of electronic w
aste were disposed of properly in 2010, but much electronic waste is still impro
perly handled.[4]
Industrial pollution[edit]
Air pollution caused by industrial plants
In 1997, the World Bank issued a report targeting China's policy towards industr
ial pollution. The report stated that "hundreds of thousands of premature deaths
and incidents of serious respiratory illness have been caused by exposure to in
dustrial air pollution. Seriously contaminated by industrial discharges, many of
China's waterways are largely unfit for direct human use". However, the report
did acknowledge that environmental regulations and industrial reforms had had so
me effect. It was determined that continued environmental reforms were likely to
have a large effect on reducing industrial pollution.[5]
In a 2007 article about China's pollution problem, the New York Times stated tha
t "Environmental degradation is now so severe, with such stark domestic and inte
rnational repercussions, that pollution poses not only a major long-term burden
on the Chinese public but also an acute political challenge to the ruling Commun
ist Party." The article's main points included:[6]
According to the Chinese Ministry of Health, industrial pollution has made cance
r China s leading cause of death.
Every year, ambient air pollution alone killed hundreds of thousands of citizens
.
500 million people in China are without safe and clean drinking water.
Only 1% of the country s 560 million city dwellers breathe air considered safe by
the European Union, because all of its major cities are constantly covered in a
"toxic gray shroud". Before and during the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing was "fr
antically searching for a magic formula, a meteorological deus ex machina, to cl
ear its skies for the 2008 Olympics."[7]