Abstract
Wenan county in Hebei province was “North China’s plastic waste recycling capital,” home to around ten thousand informal enterprises that together processed millions of tons of waste plastic annually until they were finally shut down in 2011. Based on fieldwork in North China’s informal recycling sector and data from gazetteers, government documents, news articles, and Chinese blogs, this article sketches how the informal waste sector developed in Wenan since the 1980s and analyzes how local government approaches to the sector changed as the devastating pollution and health effects of the industry became increasingly apparent. While the 2011 crackdown finally eliminated the sector from Wenan county, it predictably resulted in scattering these polluting enterprises throughout the region to work in more covert conditions, contributing to a “race to the bottom” dynamic in the sector. The conclusion proposes an alternative policy approach to the problem and briefly evaluates a national-scale initiative against the sector being planned for 2016.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
