China was the trailblazer in sustainable ship recycling until a 2018 ban on the demolition of foreign vessels brought activity to an abrupt halt.
Harry Wang, a veteran green ship-recycling consultant based in China, told TradeWinds recently that there has been no indication the government has had a change of heart, despite rumours that lifting the restriction was imminent.
The ban was part of China’s National Sword policy that prohibited importing most of the plastics and other materials headed for its recycling processors, which then handled nearly half the world’s recyclable waste.
