Recycled plastic pellets are facing greater scrutiny upon import into China, international recycling stakeholders recently reported.
Recycled plastic pellets are facing greater scrutiny upon import into China, international recycling stakeholders recently reported.
A coalition that includes the U.S. and European Union failed to agree on how new global plastic waste shipping regulations should affect the coalition’s member countries.
Improper management of scrap plastics in Southeast Asia and elsewhere has increased sharply in the wake of China’s National Sword policy, according to international law enforcement body Interpol.
Another major container ship operator says it’s ending scrap shipments to China as that country prepares to widen its prohibition on imports of recovered material. Meanwhile, insurance providers recently analyzed the Chinese policy and its ramifications for shipping lines.
New trade figures show lower year-over-year exports of recovered plastic from January to June. The decline was largely driven by less material going to India.
Federal trade statistics released last week show U.S. export volumes for the first six months of 2019. Recycled plastics have seen a major drop when compared with figures from a year ago.
Citing China’s upcoming legislation that will ban all “solid waste” imports, APM-Maersk this month announced it will stop shipping virtually all recovered materials to China and Hong Kong in the coming weeks.
This article has been updated.
Shipping company Hapag-Lloyd announced it will stop taking recycled material loads to China this year, citing the country’s recent law that referenced an all-out “solid waste” import ban in the near future.
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. exports.
U.S. shipments of recycled plastic out of the country were down during the first quarter of 2020 compared with previous years, according to new export data.