China and its Big Business of Recycling

Over 17 Million people in Beijing and 100 000 people work on the front line of the waste and recycling industry in the city. Rubbish and Recycling is big business in China and it's estimated that the Waste Treatment and Recycling Industry is worth over €14 billion Dollars in China. At the moment the collection of recyclable waste is generally a family run cottage industry with an army collectors of Plastic Bottles and cans across all the major population centers of China. The penny's for the collectors and sorters adds up as China's factories are hungry for plastics and metals to manufacture the products it exports to the world. China's Waste mountain does not just come from its consumers but as its the largest importer of waste in the world it also helps dispose and recycle the worlds waste Plastic, Metals and Paper. A Plastic bottle put into a recycling bin in the USA is often sent to China for processing where it is sorted, recycled and then manufacture into a new product that is often then re-exported to western countries.

China's Government is investing a lot to support the waste and recycling industry in China and to modernize this industry to become a world leader and the most efficient recycling nation on the planet. At the moment the waste and recycling industry is very labor intensive so it's no surprise that modern waste and recycling technology is the main focus for investment and manufactures of waste technology from around the world queuing up for a share of the China market. The Chinese government also wants to create a more positive image for China for this industry and to ensure that its systems are up to date and a world leader not just for importing recyclable waste but in the treatment and the recycling of Plastic, Metals and Paper. It also helps China reduce its Carbon footprint from doing the dirty job of turning the world's waste into raw materials and profit.