If American waste pickers play their cards right, China’s “green fence” could open a door to a bigger, healthier recycling industry right here at home.
In February, China imposed strict compliance with existing regulations regarding the importation of dirty waste materials into the country. This crackdown on poor quality and pollution has caused a substantial drop in plastic waste imports and has put some recyclers out of business, at least for now.
The stronger policy has put pressure on many municipalities, which are now struggling with some of the low-quality plastics they collect as they can no longer ship it to China. They will have to hone their sorting and sanitation processes to appease port authorities, but in the meantime, poor-quality plastics are piling up around their ears.
Yet some plastics recyclers in the US are turning the Green Fence debacle into an opportunity for growth and jobs. Large-scale companies that have already invested in recycling and pollution control services are looking for a change in the global market and the ability to operate at a fairer cost level. Some of the largest and most capable recycling facilities are already experiencing significant growth, such as Parc Corp of Romeoville, Illinois, which has doubled production in the past six months.
Recycling executives seem to have been earnestly looking forward to that event and are rejoicing on a level playing field. For many years, they have been operating expensive facilities with disappointing production levels, waiting for the floodgates to open.
In 2011, just under 53 million tons of recycling was collected in the US Nearly half of that was exported, a record 23 million tons. About 16 million tonnes went to China, representing a 23 percent increase over the previous year. Recyclables were the top U.S. export to China in 2011, a trade deal worth $ 11 billion.
In the three months following the launch of Operation Green Fence (February to April), 55 shipments of plastics were rejected at Chinese ports, sending more than 7,600 tons of recyclable materials to suppliers. Enforcement of China’s regulations means that only classified and sanitized shipments will be accepted.
Even though 7,600 tons is a mere drop in the bucket, the US is looking for ways to recycle plastics and other waste materials right here at home. Not only would American recyclers avoid potential rejections, but they would also return industrial jobs to Americans and create an opportunity for some economic growth.
Ideally, this global market shift will allow large-scale recyclers to invest in new equipment and technologies, helping them capture materials that were previously destined for Chinese landfills or ports.
At a question-and-answer webinar hosted earlier this month by the Society for Plastics and Industry, executives from the recycling industry discussed how they see China’s policy affecting them in the future.
Mike Biddle, president of MBA Polymers Inc., is working with his clients, some of the largest mixed waste collectors in the US, to improve the value of their recyclables and hopefully recycle all of their plastics here in the US. plans to build a large-scale processing plant.
Saurabh Naik, president and CEO of Intercontinental Export-Import Inc. (IEI), says they are evaluating new markets for low-quality waste materials, but the company also has significant investments in the United States.
“We see Green Fence as an opportunity to grow domestically, to create new markets for our export material, to create new jobs,” said Saureen Naik, IEI’s export sales manager for overseas operations.
Naik explained that the company is also brainstorming new ways to make products from recycled materials domestically, and over the next three years, IEI plans to invest at least $ 30 million in recycling and processing technology in the USA.
The general consensus among the group was that the United States has been using China as a scapegoat, a low-end junk dump, for far too long. China now faces a serious pollution problem. Enforcing this policy is not really a bad thing for American recyclers, but an opportunity to establish an industry and take care of our own waste.
“They want resources, not garbage, and you can’t blame them for that,” Biddle said.
(All citations originally recorded by Plastics News).
