【可持續發展目標13: 氣候行動】更有效的廢物管理對於實現循環經濟至關重要
根據聯合國貿易和發展會議（UNCTAD）的數據，截至2019年，全球有 5.5億噸廢舊材料交易。如果回收系統管理不善，廢塑料中的有害化學物質將對環境構成威脅。通過污染食品供應鏈，這些有害物質亦會危及人類的健康。不幸的是，這個正正是國家們面對的情況，而且這個現象已經惡化，尤其是自從中國在2018年禁止進口大多數塑料廢料和其他廢料— 這一決定將大量的塑料廢料轉移到了廢料管理法規較弱的貧窮國家。
在中國實施禁令之前，中國進口了約45％的全球塑料廢料，而中國的回收公司則負責回收大量此類廢料。例如，中國回收公司分別處理了95%來自歐盟用於回收的塑料和70%來自美國的塑料。但是，自從禁令實施後，回收成本上升，受影響的國家無法將經包裝的廢舊塑料產品出售給中國而收入下降，迫使如美國的金斯波特鎮(Kingsport) 和田納西州 (Tennessee)等地區關閉了其回收業務。
循環經濟取決於將廢物轉化為資源，而為了達至成功的循環經濟，我們應考慮到國際貿易流的性質，應以更高的關稅監管混合塑料貿易，還有需要不同國際集團之間進行更有效的合作來監管二次材料。
為什麼循環經濟十分重要？根據International Resource Panel 的數據模型，在實施有效的可持續政策的情況下，全球資源使用量的增長速度可能會放緩25％，而全球國內生產總值（GDP）則可能增長8％。
若想了解更多有關循環經濟和全球廢舊塑料貿易的資訊，請查看以下鏈接：
[Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action] Better Waste Governance Is Essential To Achieve Circular Economy
According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 550 million tons of used materials are traded globally as of 2019. If the recycling system is managed poorly, hazardous chemicals from scrap plastic would pose risks to the environment as well as human health by contaminating the food supply chain. Unfortunately, this has been the phenomenon and the situation has been aggravated, especially since China banned imports of most plastic waste and other waste materials in 2018 – this decision has diverted huge volume of plastic scrap to poorer countries with weaker regulations in general.
Prior to China’s ban, the country had imported about 45% of all globally traded plastic waste and Chinese processors had been in charge of recycling huge volumes of such waste. For example, Chinese processors had treated 95% of plastics collected for recycling in the European Union and 70% from the United States respectively. However, after the ban, countries exporting plastic waste have faced challenges – rising costs for recycling and falling incomes from inability to sell products repackaged from plastic waste to China have forced some, such as Kingsport and Tennessee in the United States, to shut down their recycling operations.
To achieve a success in circular economy, which hinges on turning waste into resources, the nature of global trade flows should be taken into consideration, trade in mixed plastics should be regulated with higher tariffs and more effective collaboration between different international groups is needed to regulate secondary materials.
Why is circular economy important? According to the International Resource Panel’s modelling, with effective sustainable policies in place, growth in global resource use can slow by 25% and the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could grow by 8%.
To learn more about circular economy and the global trade in plastic waste, feel free to check out the following links: