China releases 13th batch of import quotas for scrap in 2020

The 13th 2020 batch of imported scrap quotas issued by the Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Centre of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China will let in additional scrap paper, copper, steel and aluminum.

The 13th batch, announced Oct. 20, allows for more than allows 94,750 metric tons of paper scrap, according to a news release on the latest import quotas from the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). Industry analysts and recyclers have told Recycling Today this month that exports of paper scrap to China have been winding down this fall. China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has stated that it will no longer accept and approve import applications for “solid waste,” including recovered paper, starting Jan. 1, 2021.

BIR reports that the latest batch of import quotas also allows for 5,980 metric tons of copper scrap, 1,340 metric tons of steel scrap and 340 metric tons of aluminum scrap to enter China.

Recently, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment also updated guidelines for the implementation of brass, copper and aluminum “recycled raw materials” standards, which China had previously planned to introduce in July. The new standards will be implemented Nov. 1.

The full list of scrap import quotas in the 13th batch has been posted, in Chinese, to BIR’s website here.