Scrap plastic traders are facing challenges from increased freight rates and cancellations of bookings by shipping lines as Basel regulations are implemented. | Mariusz Bugno/Shutterstock
Recent changes to global regulations on scrap plastic shipments have shaken up the export market for plastics recovered from electronics.
Because the U.S. is not a party to the Basel Convention, exports to the 180-plus countries that are parties to the convention will be more complicated, or may even be prohibited by local laws. | AnkaFed/Shutterstock
The U.S. government has made public an agreement with Canada to continue shipments of scrap plastic, including e-plastics, despite global regulations tightening next year. Environmental advocates are troubled by the deal.
Industry group ISRI said that updated import guidelines are an acknowledgement from China that scrap materials are products, not waste. | Maha Heang 245789/Shutterstock
Chinese authorities have published updated standards for imports of recovered brass, copper and aluminum. They’re set to go into effect on Nov. 1.
The Basel Action Network recently publicized a Thai government decision making official a previously announced ban on e-scrap imports. | KAMONRAT/Shutterstock
The Basel Action Network this week announced changes in an overseas e-scrap import policy, and the group said an OEM broke its own policies by shipping several low-value devices to Guatemala.
The Basel Action Network estimates that since the EarthEye program started over a dozen customers have used the trackers. | Aunging/Shutterstock
Samsung is deploying 40 GPS trackers a year to follow the downstream movement of scrap electronics. Processors, including Kuusakoski, have used the devices to track the movement of recovered commodities.
Shipping company MSC stopped accepting scrap cargo headed to China and Hong Kong as of June 1. | Fomin Roman/Shutterstock
A major shipping line will no longer accept recovered plastic and other scrap material shipments bound for Hong Kong, which remains a large market for U.S. e-plastic.
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is an international treaty governing how waste is moved around the world. | mayday6510/Shutterstock
Multiple countries are proposing to expand restrictions on the global movement of discarded electronics.
Dutch company Closing the Loop buys scrap phones from local collectors in Africa. | Photo by Closing the Loop, provided courtesy of TCO Development
Sustainability certification organization TCO Development launched a program through which purchases of new electronics will fund e-scrap recycling in developing countries.
A former U.S. e-scrap executive pleads not guilty to federal charges related to business practices, and an infamous scrap site in Ghana grabs more headlines.
