http://www.smh.com.au/business/china-pollution-crackdown-here-to-stay-20171023-gz6pa1.html A crackdown on polluting industries in northern China for an unprecedented five months over winter is not a one-off and could hit Australian iron ore and coal exports. The winter pollution shutdown, which began in September and will run until March, is set to continue, China's environment minister says. Australian iron ore and coal exports have been hit by a slowdown in Chinese demand since the crackdown on pollution. Steel mills and cement makers in some provinces have had to cut production by 50 per cent, and the sale and use of coal is banned in other cities. In previous years, the winter shutdown has only lasted a few weeks."This is not a one-off, it will continue in the future," said environment minister Li Ganjie of the new measures. Chinese cities have a deadline of the end of the year to meet clean air goals set five years ago. Some financial analysts had regarded the government-enforced shutdown as a seasonal impact as the government tries to head off air pollution which worsens in winter. But Mr Li said: "These special campaigns are not a one-off, instead it is an exploration of long-term mechanisms. They have proven effective so we will continue with these measures. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for China to become an "ecological civilisation" and pursue green growth in his report to a twice a decade meeting of the Chinese communist party. Mr Li said the progress made in addressing air pollution was not enough and China's energy mix was "still dominated by coal" and the proportion of heavy industry too high. Speaking to media at a press conference during the party's 19th national congress, Mr Li said the environmental campaign may have a short term impact on economic growth "but in the long run, the big picture, the impact is minimal". He said his ministry was closely tracking economic data in cities where it sent in environmental inspectors, who are closing hundreds of factories, and it showed environmental protection has had no impact on unemployment levels. "In my view there is a positive correlation between environmental and economic performance," he said. He also rejected complaints the government was taking a "one-size fits-all approach" with pollution restrictions, and said they were being tailored to different cities. Companies that were able to correct their mistakes would be put on probation before being shut down for environmental breaches, he said. Mr Li didn't specify which of the suite of measures being imposed on northern cities over winter would continue long term.
To steer away from polution China needs to go more electric which it says it will. The one big takeaway of electicity is copper content / motors and wiring. This is copper warehouse levels http://www.infomine.com/investment/warehouse-levels/copper/ For traders / investors, condider Southern Peru Copper SCCO and Freeport McMoran FCX
How could this become a profitable business? Recycling trash has not really been a money spinner that I was aware of (high maintenance) and the ocean aspect just adds to complexity, espcially around salinity and weather.
The air pollution is obvious and is driving away investment because no westerner (or Asian or even Chinese expat) wants to move their family to a place where smog is so thick it seriously obscures visibility, which is common across China. Water pollution is much less apparent. You need Cuyahoga River catching on fire type event to get the attention of regulators. Ironically the Cuyahoga River wasn't the most polluted or dangerous in the U.S. and the fire was more about methane than really dangerous stuff like heavy metals, but it was visible and captured the public imagination. China will have something like that and when it makes them lose face in the international business world they'll take action. Hard to predict exactly what that even will be though, since again it doesn't necessarily correspond to actual levels of pollution. And you're right, hard to predict who will benefit except companies like Bechtel that have divisions that clean up and prevent pollution.
Snorkelers or Divers or those with underwater video cameras are those who really can see the pollution damage and not many of them around in China. The Great Barrier Reef gets lots of attention regarding water pollution. I did a snorkeling trip in VietNam once - never again! Also a 3 day boat cruise in Ha Long Bay, what a sewer. NEVER BUY FISH FROM ASIA.
Is there gold in those plastics floating around the world? I really don't know, but isn't it worth the loss of just doing something about it? Maybe it's time to go back to glass again and charge bigger deposits. At least people will turn them in to get there money back.
One big unseen issue are fish ingesting microfibres which come from washing machines. Clothing these days have high nylon and other synthetics counts. The water passes through the sewer system, because the fibres are so small, get through to finally end in the sea. Small fish ingest, which then moves up the food chain. One day something will be done about this plastic / synthetics pollution but how and when - ???