New regulations for import of solid waste affecting China plastics recycling industry
Categories: Regulations and Policies
New regulations for import of solid waste affecting China plastics recycling industry
From “Plastics News • China”
Guangzhou (November 15, 2011) With the strict implementation of the first import of a new solid waste regulations by Guangzhou Customs in the country, the amount of plastic waste imports decreased by 80% or more in the past two months . China plastic recycling industry worried about that, once the government requires all the country’s customs compliance with the new regulations strictly will lead to large-scale crisis in this industry.
scrap plastics imports
According to China Customs statistics shown this year, imports of plastic waste is about 52 tons in Guangzhou Customs for the first and second quarter, but in the third quarter, imports plummeted to 24 million tons, drop 35%. October imports of 2.2 million tons, up to 82% on year decline.
Guangzhou Customs is an important gateway for importing foreign plastic waste into China. In the first 10 months of this year, Guangzhou Customs import of plastic waste volume of 130 million tons, accounting for 20% of total imports, the imports are the first of the customs in China.
Starting from August 1, Guangzhou Customs has been designated as the strict implementation of the new import regulations of solid waste pilot units, resulting in the recent scrap imports declined significantly.
The Chinese government released earlier this year, the new rules, aimed at strengthening the control of waste imports. This provides the starting point is that a large number of non-renewable waste is mixed with recycled along with the value of waste into China caused pollution to the environment, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection last week in Guangzhou, China at the 2011 plastic recycling and regeneration Conference and Exhibition Fair (China Replas) delivered a speech.
As a major importer of plastic scrap, China recycled plastic waste in the process, half rely on import. According to customs data shown that the amount of plastic waste imports from 246 million tons in 2002,to740 million tons in 2010, an average annual increase of 26%.
In the speech at the meeting, officials said the new regulations will have a significant impact on the field of plastics recycling, for the following reasons: a) new rules prohibit loan, lease or license for import of solid waste; b) prohibit resale of imported waste, and imports of waste import license must be on the business as a raw material to be used; c) the importer must be carried out by local customs clearance operations, rather than any national customs.
A representative of Guangzhou Customs said at the meeting, because of the gray areas of the law before , lend, lease or sell plastic scrap import licenses and import of waste in the Guangzhou area resale “is not uncommon.” He said the new rules will effectively eliminate the solid waste of the “chaotic flow” and smuggling.
Introduction of new regulations make the plastics recycling industry feel the pressure, because once the government requires strict compliance with the new regulations to all customs of the country, import of plastic waste may be a serious decline.
According to statistics, the total imports of plastic scrap fell 11% in China in August this year, but in September rose 1 percent, in October grew by 11%. In the first 10 months of this year, China imported 7.39 million tons of plastic waste total, over the previous year increased by 5%.
China Plastics Processing Industry Association Recycling special committee chairman, Shenzhen High-Tech Co., Ltd. Grammy Lin Dongliang legal representative said: the new regulations on the import clearance impose restrictions to the company’s operational flexibility, and the cost of imports also increased. He stressed that the plastics recycling industry are supportting on the government’s determination to strengthen the industry regulator and target, but many renewable companies are not fully prepared to meet this change.
Lin Dongliang said: “The impact of new regulations is sudden, let us sink into an unprecedented situation.” He added, due to the introduction of new regulations and the global economic downturn, coupled with rising labor costs day by day, now there are 30-40% of the plastics recycling business closed down in Guangdong province.
Vice president of renewable special committee, the director of Heng Chen Zuhan International Trade Co., said the new regulations will soon be strictly enforced throughout the country.
He said: “Once the pilot demonstration in Guangzhou ended, the government will implement the new customs regulations in Guangdong Province and other places around the country.”
He added: “I think the plastic recycling industry will face a full shuffle, so we should all ill-prepared to meet the challenge.” He urged the enterprises to implement self-regenerative transformation, take the road of innovation management, and high-tech to invest.
Baoying Group President Yan Yongpu also worried about the future of the industry. He said: “In our meeting last year Replas the focus of discussion is how to deal with the coming storm, and now I have to say is even more destructive typhoons have landed.”
