Quick update for those that haven’t heard already and if we already didn’t have enough bad news going on with the ban on post-consumer plastics ban into China. Here’s more as China plans to prohibit imports of post-industrial scrap plastic by the end of the year.
The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced that it is set to re-categorize post-industrial PE, PET, PS, PVC and other scrap plastic as materials banned from import, according to The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.
Post-industrial scrap plastics, including production scraps, off-cuts and regrind, were not named in the ban on post-consumer plastic that went into effect this year. Post-industrial loads, however, are subject to the sharp 0.5 percent contamination limits that went into effect March 1.
Chinese officials previously alluded to the country’s plans for further phased-in material import restrictions. The new announcement likely signals that the volume of scrap plastic shipped into China, which has dropped off substantially this year since the post-consumer ban took effect, will further decrease in 2019.
The market turbulence caused by China’s prohibitions over the last year have caused North American recycling stakeholders to scramble to determine the viability of markets in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world.
More focus has also been put on trying to quickly develop greater capacity to use recovered material in domestic applications. So which path are you going to take?
Hirate America has solutions to provide full turn key plastic recycling systems with a combination of Lindner Resource for shredders and wash lines and Next Generation Recycling (NGR) for all-in-one shredder + extruder + pelletizer.
Credit to Plastics Recycling Update, see original article here.
If you have a project that you would like to discuss, feel free to contact us below to schedule a free consultation.
