Dive Brief:
- As the volume of waste in China grows exponentially, companies are uncovering opportunities to cash in on the massive amount of recyclables generated by consumers.
- In Beijing alone, 20 million plastic bottles are discarded in one day. As the only bottle-to-bottle facility in China- not to mention the largest production line in Asia- Incom Recycle Co. could handle a majority of these bottles.
- Although the facility is capable of handling 2.2 billion bottles per year, the plant has been virtually silent for four years, due to a lack of bottles. The facility’s major competitor- migrant workers. It’s estimated that 90% of the bottles in Beijing are collected and sold on the black market.
Dive Insight:
Migrant workers collect plastics from institutions for a nominal payment. The bottles are then transported a half hour away at a “secret” recycling yard where the materials are sold to factories.
Aware of the issue, the government started cracking down on the illegal activity and shut down some sites, while at the same time, tightening regulations dictating where the waste ends up.
The government managed to reduce the number of illegal sites from 130 to 90. The next move by the government is to attempt to leverage the marketing order to make environmental protection a profitable enterprise.
It’s not just plastics that are ending up in secondary markets- most of the electronic waste created in Beijing winds up In Dongxiaokou, a village located outside of the capital city. Authorities are working to demo the town known for processing vast amounts of e-waste.