Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-22

JINAN, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Customs officers in the coastal city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province have intercepted 217 tonnes of illegally-imported solid waste, according to local customs.

The customs officers said they checked 10 containers of goods declared as steelmaking accelerators after they found irregularities during X-ray scans.

The contents of the containers were identified as a mixture of molten slag, dross and other materials, which fall in the category of banned solid waste.

Further investigation is underway.

China began importing solid waste as a source of raw materials in the 1980s and has for years been the world's largest importer of the commodity, despite its weak waste disposal capacity. Some companies have profited by illegally bringing foreign waste into the country, which poses a threat to the environment and public health.

The Chinese government has vowed to halt such imports by the end of 2020, and moved to increase the domestic solid waste recycling rate.