China seeks to end reign as global dumping ground

Despite the fact that Europe is a global leader in plastics recycling and in diverting plastics from landfills by using waste-to-energy programs that convert waste into power generation, Europe, along with many other industrialized regions, recently  got another major incentive to increase its recycling effectiveness for plastics - the message that China no longer wants to be the world’s dumping ground for plastic waste, according to research from IHS.

As a result, recyclers in Europe and other countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, must improve their recycling technology processes as China, once the final destination for more than 70% of the world’s plastic waste, strengthens its ‘green fencing’ regulations to restrict types of plastic waste materials it will accept. China is the world’s largest consumer of recycled plastics, but relies heavily on imports - it imported 10.3 billion tons in 2012, according to IHS.

“China is increasingly concerned over degradation to its environment,” said Jim Glauser, specialty chemicals analyst at IHS Chemical and author of a report on plastics recycling. “The country has rejected shipments of waste deemed contaminated or unsuitable and officials are cracking down on hazardous materials that eventually go to Chinese landfills”, he said. “Exporters of plastic waste have to improve their recycling processes, since fewer alternative markets exist to accept this waste, and frankly, much of the plastic still has significant value through reuse or energy recovery”.