Nation calls time on solid waste imports

China notified the World Trade Organization on Tuesday it will ban the import of 24 different types of solid waste shipments by the end of this year, as part of a campaign to tackle environmental pollution, Reuters reported.

The import ban, which will go into effect at the end of 2017, includes plastics, slag from steelmaking, vanadium slag, unsorted scrap paper and discarded textile materials. According to China's WTO filing, the list has been adjusted to protect the country's environment and the public's health.

"The move shows that the government is stepping up the fight against pollution and environmental degradation as decades of fast growth have caused the country to be saddled with polluted air, and contaminated soil and water," said Xue Rongjiu, deputy director of the Beijing-based China Society for World Trade Organization Studies.