Recycling in China

In 2008, Chinese shoppers had to start bringing their own bags to the supermarket, because the government banned the use (and production) of plastic bags. In a country as large and populated as China, this measure resulted in saving 4.8 million tons of oil, and an estimated 800,000 tonnes of plastic by 2012, according to a representative of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Sustainability is an important topic around the world, including China, as the plastic bag ban and the infographic below, on the three reasons for recycling, clearly show.

So why should we recycle? Or, why should you recycle in China? The infographic gives us three main reasons: 1. to reduce the area of land covered by trash; 2. to protect the environment; and 3. (last, but with most space devoted to it, and apparently certainly not least) because it benefits the economy.