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.
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.
Casella Waste Systems ended a good year on a bad note. China’s import restrictions dented recycling revenues for the Northeast company last fall.
Credit: 1933bkk/Shutterstock
About 85 percent of mixed paper and OCC exported out of California has been bound for China in recent years, and as the Asian behemoth closes its doors to some of those imports, the state’s recycling industry is feeling the hit.
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For North America’s largest garbage and recycling companies, 2017 overall was a good year in recycling. That being said, the fourth quarter was a bad one for the industry.
Our monthly markets update shows OCC is still selling at record levels, and other fiber grades have seen notable upticks. Plastics is more of a mixed big, however.