China will block range of polluting materials, get tough on smuggling

China's environmental watchdog confirmed on Thursday that it has notified the World Trade Organization about a ban on the importation of 24 types of solid waste, which will take effect at the end of this year. It also said it will get tough on waste smuggling.

By the end of 2017, China will forbid the importation of certain waste plastics, vanadium slag, unsorted wastepaper and certain textile materials, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in its WTO filing, which was submitted on Tuesday.