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China bans overseas waste smuggling

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-31 01:25

China's customs authority said Friday that all the solid wastes imported from overseas will undergo electronic inspections to prevent garbage smuggling.

China allows the imports of some types of recyclable wastes by limits such as Poly-silicon and artificial fiber which could be remade into raw materials.

However, some undisposed trash like electronic gadgets, home appliances and medical equipments are banned from entering into the territory.

The General Administration of Customs (GAC) stressed all the waste imports will receive manual inspection if illegal materials are detected by the electronic scanning.

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Local customs which have not been equipped with electronic detecting facilities should enforce manual inspection on all the imported goods.

GAC said those who failed to honestly declare their imports will be subjected to authorities for punishment.

Smuggling of old wires, electricity meters and circuit boards to China are on the rise in recent years, as some developed countries dumped the pollutants to some developing nations to minimize their environmental costs.

China's customs department has seized 20,000 tons of illegal solid waste imports including 1,667 tons of stale garments since 2007.