Australia’s entire system of “yellow-lid bin” kerbside recycling is at risk from China’s clampdown on imported recyclables, state and Commonwealth officials have been told during crisis talks with the waste industry and local government.

Officials have been warned of potentially serious environmental, political and economic fallout from the Chinese move because only months remain before stockpiling limits are reached at recycling stations and no viable alternatives have been proposed for Australia’s heavy reliance on the Chinese market for its waste.

There are fears for the future of Australia's recycling industry. Credit:Tracey Nearmy/AAP

At a closed-door session organised by the NSW Environmental Protection Agency in Sydney last month, NSW Fire and Rescue told representatives of the NSW and Victorian governments and the Commonwealth environment and foreign affairs departments it was planning for an increase in dangerous waste fires because of the growing mountains of plastic and other recyclables at recycling stations.

Waste industry chiefs told officials the need to send now-unsaleable material to landfill was likely to drive even more interstate transport of waste to south-east Queensland and new domestic markets and legislation had to be developed urgently to handle the crisis.