A representative from a European firm that has felt the direct impacts of China’s import restrictions on recovered plastic recently offered an inside look at the fallout from the unprecedented disruption to industry trade.
A representative from a European firm that has felt the direct impacts of China’s import restrictions on recovered plastic recently offered an inside look at the fallout from the unprecedented disruption to industry trade.
China is unprepared to effectively roll out and enforce its planned Jan. 1 ban on imports of certain recyclables, according to recycling leaders who recently traveled to the country in search of answers.
There is growing chatter that China’s ban on imports of many recovered plastics will grow the country’s demand for virgin resins.
Chinese officials have reiterated that some post-consumer plastics will be banned from import by the end of the month, and have elaborated on stringent future enforcement and regulatory plans. Even so, one exporter sees the potential for washed flake to be allowed in under the new restrictions.
A plastic packaging industry publication is criticizing the recycling industry’s shock and concern over China’s import restrictions, which the writer says are part of a measured and well-publicized effort that’s been in effect for more than a decade.
More than three months after China announced it will restrict recyclables imports, key details on logistics and timing of the new regulations remain unknown. But industry associations are piecing together some more concrete facts about the downstream and upstream ramifications of the actions.
The upstream impacts of China’s import restrictions have been increasingly covered in national and local press, raising the level of public consciousness about where recyclables ultimately end up and how that could all change.
Government officials have confirmed they are monitoring China’s import policy changes and are joining industry associations in seeking clarification from Chinese authorities.
A common complaint about China’s restriction on scrap materials imports is the lack of solid information about what exactly the upcoming ban will target. A Canadian plastics group is taking data-gathering into its own hands.
Chinese authorities have released more specifics about which materials are likely to be affected by a proposed import ban on recovered materials. The action is expected to be implemented at the end of this year.