Plastic Scrap, Middle East, Kuwait

There is a slight increase in material generation. This is due to the growth that the country of Kuwait is going through in terms of population. Local demand is moderate. The demand from neighboring countries is steadier. The demand from international markets has been surprising.

We export mainly to Saudi Arabia and India. We look forward to exporting our product to the Far East and specifically the Chinese market, but surprisingly find it very difficult to find customers.

The HDPE and the PP is getting huge demand, due to the quality produced by MRC and the high standards of quality maintained. At MRC we separate each item per type, and color, being careful not to mix material. This is helping the end user to mix and match at his own will, and promoting a back-to-back recycled model, as what is being done with PET in the European region. MRC is branching out to perform the same quality of PVC, PC, ABS, LDPE and welcome customers to provide their feedback so we can further improve our quality for them.

There is always a possibility that government actions will affect availability of plastic scrap in this region. The municipality is currently planning three huge BOTs (boards of trade) to handle the municipality waste, and we look forward to the change in market ambience.

The addition of more railroads would make a difference in transportation and trade.

The Basel convention is not permitting the export of baled PET, or at least not the import of baled plastic without hefty consumption of paperwork and time, making the task not viable.

Shaker Adel H. Al-Essa can be contacted at sr.alessa@mrc.com.kw