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. 2021 Jan:164:105039.
doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105039. Epub 2020 Sep 10.

Role and potential of the circular economy in managing end-of-life ships in china

Benjamin Steuer  1   2   3 , Margarethe Staudner  4   2 , Roland Ramusch  5   2
Affiliations

Role and potential of the circular economy in managing end-of-life ships in china

Benjamin Steuer et al. Resour Conserv Recycl. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

China's circular economy has made notable progress since the 21st century and shaped various industry segments. Among these, ship recycling has been particularly outstanding as it evolved exceptionally fast and assumed an internationally leading role. In this article, we present field survey findings on recycling standards and recovery capacities regarding the material flows at Chinese shipbreaking yards, which overall perform comparatively sustainable. However, recent policy and market developments have induced the sector's decline, which at present seems to threaten the very fundamentals of circular economic management for obsolete vessels in China. Given these limited prospects for traditional recycling approaches in the near future, the article proceeds to evaluate alternative circular economy management options for Chinese ship recycling facilities to manage end-of-life vessels. Based on quantifications of hidden potentials in ship supply, value and material contributions to the domestic circular economy, technical and market specific conditions for material recovery as well as other circular economy practices, we find that ship repair and refurbishment may offer the most promising alternative to recycling for Chinese shipbreaking yards.

Keywords: BO, Beneficial owner; CE, Circular Economy; CNY, Chinese Yuan; China; Circular economy; EOLS, End-of-life ship; LDT, Light displacement tonnage; MFA, Material flow analysis; NSWMC, National Solid Waste Management Centre of China; PRC, The People's Republic of China; SRFs, Ship recycling facilities; Scrap steel; Ship recycling; Ship repair; WM, Waste management; Waste import ban.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors hereby state that there is no conflict of interest concerning the publication of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Alongside method in Jiangmen Zhongxin Shipbreaking & Steel recycling yard (© the authors).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Material flow analysis of six Chinese SRFs in 2015. All numbers are in million-ton material year −1.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Steel smelting and reprocessing at Xinhui Shuangshui Shipbreaking Steel Co Ltd Ship Recycling Yard (© the authors).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Foreign and Chinese flagged vessels dismantled in China (the authors, based on NGO Shipbreaking Platform 2014-2019).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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