After shutting the door to Australia and the world's scrap imports, China is now waging a rubbish revolution on the home front to deal with a mounting waste crisis.

Key points: Around 60 million takeaway food containers are thrown out every day across China

Around 60 million takeaway food containers are thrown out every day across China In an average week, a rubbish picker makes about $20 to $30

In an average week, a rubbish picker makes about $20 to $30 Most of Beijing's rubbish goes straight to landfill and incineration

One of the country's biggest cities, Beijing, is churning out more than 25,000 tonnes of rubbish a day — almost two-and-a-half times what it created 20 years ago.

And while China's industry-led economic miracle is slowing, its consumers are buying more than ever, and getting it delivered — creating an unprecedented surge in plastic waste.

"The volume of takeaway food packaging has increased very rapidly, very dramatically," Eric Liu, a campaigner at Greenpeace, said.

Around 60 million takeaway food containers are thrown out every day across China — the result of a food delivery boom in the major centres.

"It's easy and convenient — people want to rest after work. If they order delivery, it will save them time," food courier Rao Jian said.

The 22-year-old scales stairs all day delivering food for giant company E Le Me, which translates to "Are You Hungry?".

The services are similar to Deliveroo and UberEats in Australia, except on a much bigger scale.

Away from the prosperous CBD and the workers devouring takeaway in air-conditioned offices, rubbish picker Wang Jindong collects the plastics they throw away.

Sorry, this video has expired Bill Birtles talks plastic bags with environmentalist Chen Liwen in Beijing

The migrant worker from central China is part of one of the most efficient recycling chains on Earth.

"The migrant workers are totally professional and much more efficient than any developed countries," said Chen Liwen of Zero Waste Beijing, an environmental NGO.

"They can recycle whatever the market can deal with."

Rubbish pickers face threat to livelihood

In an average week, Mr Wang makes about $20 to $30, which he uses to support his wife and nephew Mengnan, who he took in after the boy's father became ill.

The financial strain of medical treatment was so dire that Mengnan's father considered selling him to a family who wanted a son — a practice that still occasionally exists in rural areas.

Instead, Mr Wang took him to live in a dusty brick shack with no electricity or running water on the southern fringe of Beijing.

"For my nephew, I bite my tongue — I wouldn't complain. For his education, I will bear any hardship," Mr Wang said.

His meagre livelihood is now facing a double threat.

Beijing's Government is in the midst of a drive to cap its population at 23 million people.

Over the past year, thousands of migrants from other parts of China without proper residency permits have been driven from the city.

There were once 200,000 rubbish pickers like Mr Wang in Beijing, but their numbers are in decline. It's estimated between 160,000 and 170,000 remain.

Mr Wang fears his small house, in a demolition zone, could be razed any day now, and he has nowhere else to go.

But there's another longer-term threat to his livelihood — technology.

One company, Incom, has placed 5,000 recycling machines around Beijing, encouraging residents to scan a barcode and directly cash in one cent per bottle.

It's cutting out the rubbish pickers in the process.

Liu Xuesong's company installs European-made machines around Beijing. ( ABC News: Steve Wang )

"Although we have a huge number of rubbish collectors in China and our recycling rate isn't bad, we can't control where it all ends up," entrepreneur Liu Xuesong said.

"I want to bring some dignity to this industry."

Her company processes waste plastic into polyester products and started installing the European-made machines around the capital after struggling to buy enough bottles from rubbish collectors.

"The bottles we used to buy were stored in rubbish dumps with all kinds of different waste — they were very dirty," she said.

"We needed to use large amounts of water and cleaning agent to rinse them, it wasted resources and the product quality wasn't high."

Her technology-led push to encourage city residents to directly recycle reflects a government goal to modernise the waste sector.

China's also turning to other technology — waste-to-energy incineration plants to burn the rising volume of household waste that can't be reused.

While rubbish collectors like Mr Wang are good at picking out recyclables, they only get their hands on about a third of Beijing's household garbage.

Mengnan helps his uncle collect recyclables. ( ABC News: Steve Wang )

Most of rubbish goes to landfill, incineration

Collection has long been a low priority in China because of industry's reliance on cheap foreign scrap.

Most of Beijing's rubbish, managed directly by the city, goes straight to landfill and incineration, with plastics in the mix.

"When the mixed plastic enters the incinerators, it's highly possible they'll generate poisonous and harmful material like dioxins," Mr Liu of Greenpeace said.

For this reason, Beijing and 45 other Chinese cities are now trying to get residents to separate plastics into recycling bins themselves instead of relying on others to do it for them.

Wang Jindong fears his small house, in a demolition zone, could be razed any day now. ( ABC News: Steve Wang )

But it's hard to change old habits, and thousands of tonnes of unsorted waste are still being burnt every day.

Even more plastics would be going up in smoke if it weren't for the contribution the rubbish pickers make.

"If the Government won't allow us to stay in Beijing, if it tries to drive us back to my hometown, we won't go back," Mr Wang said.

"We will look for somewhere else to live."

Watch Bill Birtles' report Tipping Point on Foreign Correspondent at 8:00pm tonight on ABC TV.