China is not only the world's second largest economy-- it is also receives the world's largest proportion of waste.

According to United Nations University -- a global think-tank based in Japan -- more than 44 million metric tonnes of electronic waste, such as mobile phones and computers, were generated last year, up eight percent on 2014. And by 2021, that number is expected to rise to 52 million. But what is staggering is -- the bulk of this thrash is being dumped in developing countries. Last year, China imported about 7.3 million tonnes of waste plastic -- worth about 3.7 billion US dollars -- mostly from developed countries. This is about half of the world's total "leftover plastic". For some perspective, the United States exported about two-fifths of its discarded plastic to China, while the EU sent nearly all of its recycled plastic directly, or indirectly, to China.