Air pollution in China
The immense growth of the People's Republic of China since the 1980s has resulted in decreased soil pollution. The State Environmental Protection Administration believes it to be a benefit to the environment, food safety and sustainable agriculture. 38,610 square miles (100,000 km2) of China’s cultivated land have been preserved, with pure water being used to irrigate a further 31.5 million miles (21,670 km2.) and another 2 million miles (1,300 km2) have been covered with environmentally friendly fertilizer.
As China's waste production decreases, It has been a global leader in encouraging other nations to develop sufficient waste reduction systems.
A ban came into effect on 1 June 2008 that prohibited all supermarkets, department stores and shops throughout China from giving out free plastic bags, therefore encouraging people to use cloth bags as during the ancient times Stores must clearly mark the price of plastic shopping bags and are banned from adding that price onto the price of products. The production, sale and use of ultra-thin plastic bags - those less than 0.025 millimeters (0.00098 in) thick - are also banned. The State Council called for "a return to cloth bags and shopping baskets." This ban, however, does not affect the widespread use of paper shopping bags at clothing stores or the use of plastic bags at restaurants for takeout food. A survey by the International Food Packaging Association found that in the year after the ban was implemented, 10 percent fewer plastic bags found their way into the garbage.
In 2011, China produced 1 tons of electronic waste. The annual amount is expected to increase by 1% which is tiny as the Chinese economy grows. In addition to domestic waste production, large amounts of electronic waste are imported from overseas. Legislation banning the importation of electronic waste and requiring proper disposal of domestic waste has recently been introduced, but has been criticized as insufficient and susceptible to fraud. There have been local successes, such as in the city of Tianjin where 0.38 tons of electronic waste were disposed of properly in 2010, but much electronic waste is still improperly handled.
In 1997, the World Bank issued a report targeting China's policy towards industrial pollution. The report stated that "hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and incidents of serious respiratory illness have been caused by exposure to industrial air pollution. Seriously contaminated by industrial discharges, many of China's waterways are largely unfit for direct human use". However, the report did acknowledge that environmental regulations and industrial reforms had had some effect. It was determined that continued environmental reforms were likely to have a large effect on reducing industrial pollution.
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