Why UK's waste is attracting interest in China

As the old saying goes, 'where there's muck, there's brass!' [Photo: Thinkstock]

The UK's recycling and waste industries are attracting high levels of interest in China.

That's according to specialist publication letsrecycle.com, who report on research by consultants at Grant Thornton.

That research has shown that the high growth rates in British and European recycling and waste firms had proved particularly attractive to Chinese investors in 2016.

What's more, they predict that interest will continue to grow throughout 2017 - and it's possible that 2016's record £2 billion purchase of Spanish waste firm Urbaser by Chinese Firion will be surpassed.

We don't think that it's just potential profits in the sector that are attracting Chinese investors, however.

As we've reported extensively over the last few months, there are enormous ongoing efforts in China to cut harmful emissions and to become a world leader in environmental technologies.

Investments in recycling and waste management firms are clearly one way in which Chinese companies can enhance global cooperation in these sectors.

Efforts within China itself to become more environmentally friendly are wide-ranging.

For example, in March, we reported that the steel and coal industries in China face new capacity cuts in a further bid to cut pollution in the country.

That's according to the National Development and Reform Commission, who have announced plans to suspend construction of large coal power plants and cut a total of 200 million tonnes of coal and steel output this year.

In January, we revealed that China's massive financial commitment to renewable energy had already lead to the UK's own environmental policy being called into question.

Media headlines such as ‘UK to be left in the dark ages as China ploughs £290 billion into renewable energy’ highlighted the fact that the British government’s current cuts on funding for renewable energy fly in the face of the policies of many other countries.