China is the world's largest importer of plastic waste

• In 2016, China imported 7.35 million tons of waste plastics from 129 countries or regions, with a total value of 24.4 billion yuan and an average price of 3,320 yuan per ton, of which PET accounted for 34.4%, reaching 2.53 million tons, the highest quantity.
• From 2008 to 2016, the import volume of waste plastics exceeded 7 million tons. China is the world's largest importer of waste plastics.

China's plastic recycling ecosystem

• More than 40% of the recycled plastics processed in China are handled by medium and large-scale manufacturers. Most of these manufacturers are located in coastal areas and have fairly complete import, procurement and sales channels.
• Compared with manufacturers in coastal areas, manufacturers in inland areas focus on processing domestic plastic waste.
• Inland areas have lower labor costs and abundant raw materials - the main cost comes from the labor involved in plastic recycling, and the cost of obtaining raw materials is relatively low. Based on labor cost considerations, China's plastic recycling ecosystem is gradually moving to inland areas, and it is estimated that processing in inland areas will account for 70% to 80% of the total.