Len Shaw of Canadian association cites good and bad trends in 2007.
Published December 17, 2007
Len Shaw, executive director of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI), has provided a review of regulatory news affecting recyclers in that nation.
In a column that opens the most recent edition of CARI’s “The Pulse” e-newsletter, Shaw comments upon several Canadian and global regulatory issues that made news in 2007, including:
The spread of “tag and hold” by-laws in Canadian cities, about which Shaw says, “The challenge remains a major issue for CARI and for the future.”
An end-of-life vehicle law in British Columbia has interrupted business, according to Shaw. “Some Canadian auto wreckers started refusing to buy or even accept old cars because of [the] new provincial end-of-life program,” he writes. “They argue that the cost of preparing a vehicle for salvage (draining fluids, removing tires and sensitive parts such as catalytic converters, airbags, mercury switches, etc.) is too time consuming and expensive. Once again regulators refused to listen to the industry and their so called environmental regulation may end up creating a bigger environmental problem.”
Shaw points to a sweeping recycling law in China that “directs all levels of government to develop recycling, energy and water efficiency as well to divert capital to environmentally-friendly industries.” Adds Shaw, “These types of regulations will certainly create stronger demand for recycled materials.”
India’s attempt to have all exporters of non-shredded metal scrap register with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade was “finally cancelled essentially because of the impracticality and confusion of the regulations,” writes Shaw.
Commenting on politics in the United States, Shaw notes that the U.S. Senate has introduced The Recycling Investment Saves Energy (RISE) Act, designed to boost recycling rates by providing tax incentives to subsidize the purchase of recycling equipment. “Obviously the bill is supported by ISRI and gives the U.S. scrap industry substantial support,” he notes.
In Europe “a major issue is that the EU continues to treat recyclable materials as ‘waste,’” notes Shaw. Regulations there may require that traders need to have a physical presence in the country to which material is being shipped. “Additionally, there is concern that compliance with the regulation will require companies to disclose confidential, commercially-valuable information,” Shaw writes.
Summarizing 2007, Shaw comments, “There appears to be growing support for recycling and the benefits that it brings from all parts of the world. But the major problem is the lack of understanding or knowledge by decision makers in all countries about our industry.”
