Impact of China’s New Regulation on Recyclable Wastes on the Trend of TBM and

Recycling Business in Asia

Michikazu KojimaSenior Economist

Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia

Workshop 2018 of the Asian Network for Prevention of Illegal Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste, November 6-8, 2018

Chinese Import Regulation on Recyclable waste• China try to control import of recyclable waste by

enforcing various regulation

Pre-shipment Inspection

Inspection by customs officer

Inspection to recycling factories, on emission control, waste management and others.

Issue and revoke import licences3 Catalogues on Waste“Catalogue of Banned Importation of Solid Waste”“Catalogue of Restricted Importation of Solid Waste Used as Raw Material”“Catalogue of Unrestricted Importation of Solid Waste Use as Raw Material”

Environmental Protection and Standard for Imported Solid Wastes as Raw Materials.

Regulation on Pollution Control: Regulation on wastewater treatment, emission control and hazardous waste management.

Formulating Recycling Industrial Park (Reduce monitoring cost on pollution.)

2

Concerns in Asian countries• China revised non tariff measures on some types of recyclable

waste such as plastic waste (excluding plastic waste generated in production process) and unsorted waste paper in 2017.

• Some countries such as Japan and South Korea which has exported recyclable waste to China, facing difficulty to find the destination of recyclable waste.

• On the other hand, some developing countries such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam increase the import of recyclable wastes. Chinese restriction of importing recyclable waste stimulates the investment in recycling in other Asian countries.

• Government officers in charge of transboundary movement of hazardous waste in countries waste concern the possibility that their countries would become dumping ground or pollution from recycling industry would increase.

3

Import of Waste Plastics, Waste Paper and Copper Scrap by China (Monthly Average in 2016 – 100)

4

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Waste Paper Waste Plastics Copper Scrap

Plastic Waste Import 2016

51%

20%

4%

3%2%2%

18%

China China, Hong Kong SAR Germany

USA Belgium Malaysia

Others

In 2016, 14 million ton of plastic waste was traded in the world. More than 60 % of plastic waste were sent to China, because most of imported plastic wastes by Hong Kong were re-exported to China.

5

PET Bottle

6

↑Washed flake of PET.

Thread is spun

with heat.←

It twists

and unite

to make

thick

thread, or

makes

substitute

to cotton.

→

Europe

Compressed and

baled

Philippines

Shredded and

washed to flake

China

Prior Notice and Consent

Destination of Plastic Waste from Japan

7

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Tho

usa

nd

Ton

s

China Thailand Malaysia Vietnam

Taiwan South Kore Hong Kong Other

Import of Plastic Waste

8

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100.0120.0140.0

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Malaysia Thailand Taiwan Indonesia India

Waste Paper Import in 2015

9

53%

7%6%

5%

3%

26%China

Germany

India

Netherland

Spain

Others

Import of Waste Paper by India and Indonesia

10

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Jan

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17

Feb

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11Mixed paper with plastics, imported to Shezhen, China from US. December 2011.

Plastics and others

12

Some of label and cap is not removed.

PET flake after washing and Crushing

Mixed Waste Plastics.

Label and cap are removed.

Trade Regulation and Types of Plastic Waste

Trade Restriction

Justification China Philippines

No control, Import freely

Pollution control is strictly enforced.

Import License Required

Recycler with and without pollution control exists. Only good recyclers can import. Prior Notice

And Consent

Prohibit Import

No facility to treat properly or not enough facility to clean up imported one

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Challenges for plastic recycling

• Recycler may not want to invest in soring, crushing and washing facility, because• China may allow import some types of plastic waste in the

near future.• Country where they will invest in the facility may prohibit the

import in the future.

• Some recyclers try to get short-term profit, because unsorted plastic waste is cheap and because strong demand of re-pellet is still existing in China. 14

Plastic Waste Generator

Sorting, Crushing, Washing

Pelletizing Production of goods

Insufficient capacity in the world

What is appropriate target?

• When I made interview with the recycler who is importing waste PET bottle and make PET flakes, he said he opened recycling facility for recycling of waste PET generated in the Philippines. But they can not collect waste PET bottles, because informal recyclers without pollution control collect PET bottles in higher price.

• The key policies to facilitate the investment in proper recycling process are• to enforce pollution control regulation

• to ensure enough volume of recyclables for good recyclers, because there is scale economy in recycling process and pollution control.

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China announced the revision of list of recyclable waste which cannot be imported from end of 2018 and 2019

• In April 2018, China announced that revision of list of waste which can or cannot be imported.

• Prohibit importing in the end of 2018.• Plastic waste generated from production process.• Pressed End of Live Vehicles• Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment for recovering steel.• Waste coated cables and Waste Electronic and Electrical

Equipment for recovering copper• Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment for recovering

Aluminum• Waste Ship, and others

• Prohibit importing in the end of 2019• Scrap Stainless Steel, and others. 16