Blue is the sky as customs goes after solid waste
Shanghai Customs returned and/or safely disposed of more than 7,000 tons of solid waste last month in a local response to the nationwide campaign against foreign waste entitled "Blue Sky 2019," local customs said.
Last month's crackdown mainly targeted ownerless solid waste, which arrived without a declaration. Some of the enterprises which delivered these cargoes to the city had gone bankrupt and nobody could be found to receive the waste, officers said. And in other cases some companies had shut down or withdrawn from the Chinese market, making it difficult to return the waste, they added.
Customs officers inspect the waste boards.
According to the customs, they sent off the last trash shipment on May 30, with a vessel carrying 103 tons of waste boards leaving Waigaoqiao port. Among the 7,056 tons of solid waste being returned or disposed, 5,229 tons were handled by customs officers at Waigaoqiao port, setting a new record in terms of weight — the waste was as heavy as 5,000-plus cars.
Han Dejun, an official with the Waigaoqiao port customs, said that they had contacted some shipping agencies and companies and urged them to fulfill their obligation in returning the solid waste, which is banned by law.
Meanwhile, the waste belonging to bankrupted companies or those that had pulled out of the Chinese market was safely disposed of.
Customs said the ownerless and non-declared solid waste often had to be stored in warehouses for a long time, which utilized land and port resources. This waste can also bring risks of pollution and harm people's health and security.
Containers of solid waste are loaded on to a vessel.
Waste boards are given a look-over by customs officers.
More waste boards mean more inspections.
