The Operation National Sword (ONS) was a policy initiative launched in 2017 by the government of China to monitor and more stringently review recyclable waste imports.
This initiative antecedes the Operation National Sword, as it was already launched as an aggressive inspection effort aimed at reducing the amount of contaminated recyclables and waste that was being sent to the country.
[5] In April 2017, Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, in a speech during the 34th meeting of the Reform Enforcement Task Force, emphasized the country's focus on environmental issues related to foreign "waste".
China then notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 18 July 2017 that it intended to ban additional "solid waste" imports by year-end.
[7] In March 2018, the National Sword policy came into effect, banning the import of 24 categories of scrap materials, including low-grade plastics and unsorted mixed paper.