The list of Asian countries that have imposed import restrictions on plastics waste is getting longer. To combat the growing import volumes, Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has issued new regulations governing the import of plastics and paper waste, the Taipei Times reports. The EPA imposed import restrictions for the first time in August 2018 – albeit without resounding success. After a public consultation, the decision was then taken to tighten the conditions.

Licensed Taiwanese companies are now only permitted to import industrial waste from the production facilities of their own subsidiaries abroad. Under certain conditions, they are also permitted to bring other single-sort waste into the country. Under no circumstances may materials be mixed or contaminated with soil. This is aimed at preventing pathogens from entering the country, on agricultural films waste, for example.

The EPA and the customs authorities have already implemented tighter controls. In the event of the strict regulations being violated, fines of up to TWD 10m (EUR 200,000) can be imposed, the newspaper reports.

Since China placed drastic limits on imported waste at the start of 2018, other Southeast Asian countries have been swamped by a deluge of waste. In the case of Taiwan, imports in the first seven months of 2018 rose – by 150,000 t of plastics waste and 190,000 t of paper waste compared with the same period in 2017. Alongside China and Taiwan, other countries that have tightened their import conditions are Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand – see Plasteurope.com of 05.11.2018.