Urumqi Customs in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China shipped out 5,800 tons of imported waste metal in the first half of this year, two times the amount compared with the same period of last year.
This was part of the local government's effort to control the import of waste metals, because majority of the returned metals are below required standard and posing threat to the environment.
Waste iron accounted for 95 percent of the total returned metals, according to sources with the customs.
The sources said the import of waste metals is increasing over the past few years along with the country's growing needs for iron and steel, nonferrous metal and other metals.
Urumqi Customs in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China shipped out 5,800 tons of imported waste metal in the first half of this year, two times the amount compared with the same period of last year.