Regulatory changes could prevent the U.S. from exporting e-plastics to a number of countries. | rawf8/Shutterstock
Federal regulators are asking countries that are major buyers of U.S. scrap plastic to refrain from implementing new trade restrictions laid out in the Basel Convention, a treaty covering global scrap material shipments.
The move this month by 187 governments to alter a global waste treaty will mean further uncertainty for U.S. scrap plastic exports.
A handful of electronics recycling stakeholders weighed in on a federal proposal to ban certain e-scrap exports and require stringent tracking for others. Their comments were published this week.
The U.S. recycling industry, including the e-scrap recycling sector, is expected to feel the economic repercussions of the escalating U.S.-China trade war.
For two years, media outlets around the globe have covered China’s National Sword recyclables import restrictions. Now, China is threatening to wield its trade sword for a different purpose: cutting off rare earth exports to the U.S.
Final adoption of key international guidelines for e-scrap exports was once again punted as debate drags on over the definition of “repairable” devices.
The owners of e-scrap processor Total Reclaim have been sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges related to their export of LCD devices to Hong Kong.
The Basel Action Network exports watchdog group and Canadian e-scrap company Electronic Recycling Association have ended their legal battle, shortly after a judge tossed out some of the processor’s claims.
Chinese officials doubled down on plans to ban virtually all recovered material imports by the end of the year, despite opposition from U.S. interests.
This story has been updated.
The Indian government says it will ban scrap plastic imports, a move that threatens to further disrupt the U.S. recycling industry by closing a growing market.