Industry experts say numerous recovered plastics processing facilities are popping up worldwide, as the global market shifts away from shipping raw material into China.
Industry experts say numerous recovered plastics processing facilities are popping up worldwide, as the global market shifts away from shipping raw material into China.
The U.S. has become a focus of investment for a small yet growing portion of the Chinese scrap processing industry. Backers of two in-development operations note they are looking for regulatory stability and a strong supply of recyclables.
Chinese officials have accused the U.S. of hypocrisy for denigrating the scrap imports ban amid a brewing trade war between the two nations.
After wounding U.S. exports of scrap paper and plastics, China is now preparing to cripple recovered aluminum shipments. This time, the justification isn’t environmental protection but tariff retaliation.
Li Ganjie, China’s minister of environmental protection
China’s top environmental official has quantified the reduction in scrap materials flowing into the country as a result of recent restrictions. He also spoke publicly about the market fallout and the criticism China has received for enacting its reforms.
Last year presented an upheaval in the global recovered plastics market, and the impacts continue to roll in. Three experts recently shared their thoughts on the specific causes of the volatility.
Mixed-paper has hit an all-time price low, with each ton trading for just $5. Downward pricing has also been seen with other fibers, but plastics have shown increasingly strong values lately.
Steel and aluminum imports have been singled out by the White House, and though plenty of questions linger about the development, prices for recyclables could jump in the short term.
With China having recently shaken up export possibilities, industry leaders in the U.S. have amplified their calls for more domestic markets for recyclables. Two upcoming events aim to accelerate that process.
