Months after China ramped up restrictions on scrap imports, countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are initiating similar, if less extensive, policies as officials try to get a handle on massive increases in shipments and improper use of permits.
Vietnamese authorities have boosted inspections of scrap imports and plan to halt shipments to key ports next month.
A market expert recently discussed some of the effects China’s National Sword policy has had on that country’s massive paper-products industry.
Debate over source separation has carried on since the single-stream concept emerged, but it has received particular attention over the past year, because of China’s import restrictions and the ensuing market fallout.
China supplies components for a lot of equipment used in the U.S. recycling industry, meaning tariffs on Chinese imports would be felt across many recycling sectors, according to an industry association.
A $1 million loan from the state of California will help a small manufacturer boost its production of recycled-fiber-content bottles.
The leader of California’s recycling agency recently weighed in on China’s import restrictions, addressing concerns he’s heard from local government and industry representatives.
The U.S. paper recovery rate declined to under 66 percent last year after multiple years of increases, and an industry group says China’s import ban is to blame.
Each year in early May, compost advocates globally join their voices during International Compost Awareness Week.
China’s import shifts have meant plummeting OCC prices, a fact that’s been a boon to the bottom line of U.S. mill owners. But paper executives aren’t expecting the scenario to necessarily become the new norm.