The British Plastics Federation Recycling Group has hailed the recent move by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) to tighten the import of certain materials, including plastics scrap, to prevent the importation of foreign waste under the guise of plastics.
In a release, the BPF says that it welcomes the implementation of drivers to increase the quality of sorting plastic waste for recycling. Current avenues for low quality sorted material through export prevents many recycling companies from focusing on driving up the quality of the material collected within the U.K. This means that recyclers in England must spend resources sorting material, even if it has already been through a sorting process, before they can reprocess it. This additional sorting also reduces the company’s yield.
Roger Baynham, chairman of BPF’s Recycling Group, says, “A quality standard for all material going into the plastic recycling stream, whether it is recycled in the U.K. or exported, would ensure a level playing field and enable U.K. facilities to compete for material. This would also reduce any effects that an initiative such as ‘Border-gate sword 2017’ might have upon the market.
“This standard needs to apply for all parts of the plastic recycling industry, including packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), end-of-life vehicles and construction.”
The BFP notes that the GAC announcement also shows the importance of having sustainable markets for plastic recycling within the U.K. and not relying exclusively on exports for end markets for plastic scrap. With tighter controls on imports into China and stricter regulation on facilities within the country, the market for U.K. plastic recycling within China is likely to reduce.
“A sustainable market for plastic recycling within the U.K. would ensure this valuable material is available to U.K.-based manufacturers, which would help contribute towards a local circular economy. It would also help support U.K. jobs within these industries whilst securing resources for the country,” Baynham adds.
“The BPFRG has been calling for Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) reform for years as a tool to ensure there is a level playing field with exports — and views the announcement of GACC as a further motivator for the current PRN system to be reviewed,” Baynham concludes.
The BPF Recycling Group is a stand-alone membership group within the British Plastics Federation.