THE HUNAN HIGH PEOPLE'S COURT recently convicted 12 people for recycling over 140 metric tons of medical waste in the province and sold it to unauthorized workshops, which used it to make plastic products. Ifeng.com commented on Monday:

Enacted in 2003, the regulation on the management of medical waste stipulates that unauthorized individuals and organizations are strictly forbidden from selling or buying medical waste.

The illegal recycling and distribution of medical waste in Central China's Hunan province, however, suggests that a large proportion of medical waste is not being disposed of properly. The underground exchange network for medical waste even extends to manufacturers that rake in illegal profits by making plastic products from the waste.