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.
U.S. recycling leaders who are closely tied to export markets say China’s proposed import prohibition on recovered plastic and other materials could drive changes all the way back to the curb.
A freight forwarding company has filed a lawsuit against a recyclables exporter, demanding to be reimbursed for tens of thousands of dollars in charges that accrued when cargo containers were left unclaimed at a Chinese port.
Chinese authorities have announced the country will prohibit recycled PET, PE, PVC and PS from being imported by the end of 2017. One U.S. group said that action would have a “devastating impact” on the wider recycling sector.
Experts shared a broad range of ideas linked by sustainability in the plastics industry during the Refocus Sustainability and Recycling Summit last week.