Developing countries are not ＂garbage dumps＂ of rich countries. Southeast Asian countries have refused to accept ＂foreign garbage＂ one after another.

　　In May, in Port Klang, Malaysia, a container carrying garbage stinks. Malaysia’s environment minister, Yang Meiying, said that she would return the maggot-bearing garbage to … …

　　Recently, a reporter from Bloomberg wrote this scene into a news report, saying that Yang Meiying’s words represented a concern that spread throughout Southeast Asia. A lot of rubbish from Europe and America is weighing on Southeast Asian countries and losing patience. As foreign media said, for developed countries that export garbage, a message should be clear: their own garbage should be handled by themselves.

　　Southeast Asia refuses to become a garbage dump

　　Recently, the voice of rejecting "foreign garbage" has continued to rise in Southeast Asian countries.

　　Indonesia’s Jakarta Times reported on July 9th that Indonesian customs had once again seized a large number of harmful waste from Australia in the country’s ports and would "send the garbage back to their hometown". The week before, the Indonesian government just announced that it would return 49 containers filled with "foreign garbage" to many developed countries including France.

　　For a long time in the past, developed countries such as the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, Australia, and Japan exported an amazing amount of "foreign garbage" to many developing countries in Asia, such as China, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Since last year, the "foreign garbage burden" faced by Southeast Asian countries has become heavier.

　　In January 2018, China officially implemented the "foreign garbage" ban, totally banning the import of 24 kinds of solid wastes in 4 categories. Since then, garbage collectors in Europe and America have turned their attention to other Asian markets, especially Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

　　Take Germany as an example. According to the data provided by German media, in 2017, the country exported 600 tons of plastic waste to Indonesia, and in the first 10 months of 2018, this figure increased to 49,500 tons. According to another data, in the first six months of 2018, the amount of garbage exported to Malaysia increased from 168,500 tons in 2016 to 456,000 tons.

　　The increasing "foreign garbage" has brought serious harm to the ecological environment and people’s health in Southeast Asian countries. Under the heavy pressure, countries have successively introduced restrictive measures and related laws to prohibit the import of garbage, saying "no" to "foreign garbage".

　　In June, the Philippines insisted on sending 69 containers containing illegally imported garbage back to Canada at the expense of "diplomatic war". In May, Malaysia also announced that it would send 450 tons of imported garbage back to Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States and other places.

　　In addition, since last year, some Southeast Asian countries have legislated one after another to put a legal yoke on "foreign garbage". The Thai government announced that the import of plastic waste will be banned by 2021. The Vietnamese government also said that it would stop issuing new garbage import licenses, and "the country cannot become a garbage dump".

　　"At present, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries are interested in importing ‘ Foreign garbage ’ Take severe crackdown measures, mainly including strengthening customs supervision and inspection, and further strengthening the formulation and improvement of relevant laws in China. " Xu Liping, a researcher at the Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy Institute of China Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with this reporter.

　　The ban forced the industrial chain to update.

　　"Due to the development gap between developing countries and developed countries in terms of economy, technology and national legal system construction, waste producers in developed countries choose irresponsible export methods in order to reduce the cost of waste disposal as much as possible, but they cannot effectively supervise waste trade in developing countries in terms of environmental law enforcement and technology, which leads to developing countries becoming developed countries ‘ Garbage dump ’ 。” Tan Quanyin, assistant researcher of Tsinghua University Institute of Environment and director of the comprehensive office of Basel Convention Asia-Pacific Regional Center, pointed out in an interview with this reporter that this is the main reason why China and Southeast Asian countries are generally faced with the problem of "foreign garbage".

　　According to the statistics of the World Bank, the population of developed countries only accounts for 16% of the world’s population, but they produce 34% of the world’s garbage. Exporting solid waste to developing countries for treatment, recovery and reuse, which is a common practice in many developed countries, can bring certain economic benefits, but it makes developing countries bear huge social and environmental costs.

　　Water pollution, crops withering and people getting sick … … "Deutsche Welle" recently pointed out that these "foreign garbage" have brought great environmental and social harm to Southeast Asian countries after paying attention to the environmental damage caused by garbage disposal in a small town in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

　　"processing ‘ Foreign garbage ’ In addition to incineration and burial, sorting and some technical means are needed, and Southeast Asian countries do not have the ability to handle a large number of ‘ Foreign garbage ’ The ability. In addition, the ecological environment of some Southeast Asian countries is relatively fragile, and they are already facing challenges such as marine garbage and sewage. ‘ Foreign garbage ’ The massive influx will cause fatal damage to the local ecological environment and even devastating effects, which is extremely unfavorable to the development of these countries. " Xu Liping said.

　　Nowadays, with the multiple hazards caused by "foreign garbage" becoming increasingly prominent and the overall environmental awareness of Southeast Asian countries increasing, more and more countries choose "zero tolerance" for "foreign garbage". The "foreign garbage" ban issued by China last year has set an example for developing countries facing similar troubles to follow.

　　据新加坡《海峡时报》报道，6月20日，在第34届东盟峰会举行之前，一群抗议者出现在泰国曼谷的一座政府大楼前，呼吁东盟国家禁止“从世界任何地方”向该地区出口废物。

　　对此，英国回收协会负责人认为，中国的“洋垃圾”禁令是一件好事，既可以倒逼更多资金投入垃圾处理技术的研发，也可以倒逼从商品制造到垃圾处理的整个产业链进行更新。

　　“自己的垃圾应自己解决”

　　根据世界银行的数据，2050年，人类制造的固体垃圾将上升到34亿吨。随着越来越多东南亚国家拒绝“接盘”，发达国家又将如何安置它们的垃圾？

　　有分析称，也许非洲将成为发达国家的下一个目标。然而，寻找“下家”只是不负责任的应急之举。发达国家真正该思考的，不是如何将垃圾压力转嫁他国，而是如何从源头根治问题。

　　彭博社称，解决办法可能在于新科技和社会行为的改变，从而减少甚至消除对垃圾填埋场和焚化炉的需求。而对发达国家来说，尤为迫切的是应学会自己处理垃圾。

　　5月10日，在瑞士日内瓦，包括中国在内的186个国家共同通过了一项决定，不再允许发达国家将其塑料垃圾随便丢给发展中国家处理。有日媒称，这对国际间的垃圾进出口施加了更进一步的严格限制。

　　“‘ Foreign garbage ’ The problem has a long history. It is both a developing problem and a global governance problem. It involves many countries and needs to raise awareness from the global level, and introduce relevant international laws to carry out comprehensive governance. " Xu Liping pointed out that relevant countries, especially developed countries, as the main producers of most "foreign garbage", should bear the responsibility to dispose of garbage at home, instead of dumping it in developing countries and shirking their responsibilities. "In addition, developing countries should also strengthen their relevant legislation and law enforcement to further block ‘ Foreign garbage ’ Import channels. "

　　Tan Quanyin also believes that solving the problem of "foreign garbage" requires a comprehensive plan to treat both the symptoms and the root causes. On the one hand, developed countries should adopt more responsible garbage disposal methods, strengthen the capacity building of domestic facilities, realize environmentally sound management of waste in China, and strengthen law enforcement to prevent illegal export of waste; On the other hand, countries should make joint efforts, while advocating and practicing sustainable production and consumption, and improving the level of cleaner production technology, strengthen cooperation, earnestly assume the responsibility of harmless management of their own waste, and promote the inclusion of the life-cycle responsibility system of waste in the framework of international law, fulfill relevant obligations, and perform their respective duties. (Our reporter Yan Yu)