PLASTICS RECYCLING UK
BPF recycling group sees many implications beyond China resulting from "Green Fence" policy / Call to discourage releasing balloons and lanterns
It has been a few months since the Chinese 'Green Fence' policy went into effect and already various national associations and federations globally are weighing in on its early impact.
The British Plastic Federation Recycling Group (BPFRG, London; www.bpf.co.uk) the representative body for UK plastic recyclers, has issued its own assessment of the policy stating that it has "severely" limited the opportunity to export used plastics to China for recycling and this has created a build up of waste materials in the UK supply chain.
According to the BPFRG, China provided a market for an estimated 920,000 t of plastic in 2010 and this, in turn, led to the UK not only exporting resources, but also sending away jobs which could have easily been kept and expanded at home within the UK recycling and manufacturing sectors.
With the February implementation of the 10-month policy set to end in November 2013, an effort developed by the Chinese central government as well as environmental and customs officials to more vigorously inspect and reject what they consider to be sub-par container loads, the implications are now becoming clear abroad and the issues arising from 'Green Fence' are holding back further development of markets for recycled plastics domestically and are in need of urgent resolution. Thus, the BPFRG has called for a demand-side stimulus to kick-start more domestic plastics recycling, which would enable users of recycled plastics to offset obligation under the country's producer responsibility legislation, leading to a reduction in compliance costs and providing commercial incentive to use more recyclate.
In the UK, the producer responsibility regulations cover packaging, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), batteries and vehicles and encourage the minimisation of waste from these products as well as promote their reuse. They also set targets for the recovery and recycling of waste materials.
BPFRG has stated that it has discussed its proposal with Defra (London / UK; www.defra.gov.uk/) and it is now urging the government to accelerate the implementation of changes in legislation.
In other federation news, it has announced that it is backing a Marine Conservation Society campaign, "Don't Let Go!", to discourage the use of balloons and sky lanterns, which the BPFRG says will not only protect wildlife, but will also significantly reduce the fire risk associated with floating lanterns.
The announcement is in response to a massive fire in early July at plastics recycling specialist Jayplas (Leicester; www.jayplas.com) where one or more Chinese lanterns are thought to have been the cause of the blaze, which did more than GBP 6m in damage – see Plasteurope.com of 02.07.2013.
e-Service:
BPF proposal: "To encourage and incentivise the use of recycled plastics in UK manufacturing" as PDF
The British Plastic Federation Recycling Group (BPFRG, London; www.bpf.co.uk) the representative body for UK plastic recyclers, has issued its own assessment of the policy stating that it has "severely" limited the opportunity to export used plastics to China for recycling and this has created a build up of waste materials in the UK supply chain.
According to the BPFRG, China provided a market for an estimated 920,000 t of plastic in 2010 and this, in turn, led to the UK not only exporting resources, but also sending away jobs which could have easily been kept and expanded at home within the UK recycling and manufacturing sectors.
With the February implementation of the 10-month policy set to end in November 2013, an effort developed by the Chinese central government as well as environmental and customs officials to more vigorously inspect and reject what they consider to be sub-par container loads, the implications are now becoming clear abroad and the issues arising from 'Green Fence' are holding back further development of markets for recycled plastics domestically and are in need of urgent resolution. Thus, the BPFRG has called for a demand-side stimulus to kick-start more domestic plastics recycling, which would enable users of recycled plastics to offset obligation under the country's producer responsibility legislation, leading to a reduction in compliance costs and providing commercial incentive to use more recyclate.
In the UK, the producer responsibility regulations cover packaging, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), batteries and vehicles and encourage the minimisation of waste from these products as well as promote their reuse. They also set targets for the recovery and recycling of waste materials.
BPFRG has stated that it has discussed its proposal with Defra (London / UK; www.defra.gov.uk/) and it is now urging the government to accelerate the implementation of changes in legislation.
In other federation news, it has announced that it is backing a Marine Conservation Society campaign, "Don't Let Go!", to discourage the use of balloons and sky lanterns, which the BPFRG says will not only protect wildlife, but will also significantly reduce the fire risk associated with floating lanterns.
The announcement is in response to a massive fire in early July at plastics recycling specialist Jayplas (Leicester; www.jayplas.com) where one or more Chinese lanterns are thought to have been the cause of the blaze, which did more than GBP 6m in damage – see Plasteurope.com of 02.07.2013.
e-Service:
BPF proposal: "To encourage and incentivise the use of recycled plastics in UK manufacturing" as PDF
26.08.2013 Plasteurope.com [226172-0]
Published on 26.08.2013