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In February 2017, almost ** metric tons of plastic waste was exported by some ** countries to China. China has historically been the dumping ground for foreign nations waste, importing approximately of the world's plastic waste in 2016. However, in 2017 China introduced new environmental laws which led to a decline in plastic waste imports. In the same year the country announced the "National Sword Policy", which began on January *** 2018. This effectively halted all foreign waste imports, and by February 2018 global exports to China had fallen massively.

The ban caused huge problems for the global recycling industry, with large quantities of waste piling up or being landfilled as export nations scrambled for new ways to deal with their waste. Countries such as the United States began rerouting their shipments to South East Asian nations such as Malaysia and Thailand. However, following China's lead Malaysia has also clamped down on waste imports, sending back shipments of plastic waste. Wealthy nations are now having to rethink how they deal with their garbage footprint.