You mean, they stopped buying recyclables? That's fairly different than just accepting raw waste: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/11/world/china-recyclables-b...
It's a simple numbers game. 300 million will never produce as much waste as 1 billion.
I dont have the numbers but Americans do produce more trash compared to majority of those billion. Its hard to compete with Americans when you live on $2 per day.
Sure, but that doesn't bode well for the future when that population of 1 billion starts elevating more of its people to the middle class.
Yes, poverty means less waste, but the global goal seems to be getting people out of poverty, which increases net pollution.
Point is, mankind still has the issue. China is not solving any problems by making us keep our own garbage. They're not helping mankind at all. And neither are we with our penchant for plastic products. I guess I'm just pointing out that the problem has not been fixed, it's been transferred.