Exporters of recovered plastics are reporting that the value of material has dipped following moves by the Chinese government to tighten controls on the quality of waste that enters the country.

Earlier this month, letsrecycle.com reported that the Chinese central government had written to port customs officials to take immediate steps to reduce the impact of ‘foreign waste’ being imported into the country from overseas, following instructions from the newly elected president Xi Jinping (see letsrecycle.com story).

The Chinese government has imposed tougher inspection requirements on containers of waste materials entering portsAnd, according to exporters, the move has made it increasingly difficult to get mixed plastic and lower quality plastic films through Chinese ports, with some reports that containers are being held in ports or are being returned to the UK.

It is also feared that the UK’s domestic plastics reprocessing capacity will struggle to cope with a surplus of material, and recyclers claim that a lot of material is being kept in storage until the market begins to move again.

Exporters are reporting that the price of 80:20 plastic films have fallen by around 40% per tonne, from between £35 to £55 in February 2013, to between £20 and £40 currently. Mixed plastic bottles are valued at around £20 per tonne for lower quality bales.

The market situation has already seen the cost of packaging waste recovery notes (PRNs) rise from between £15-17 in February 2013, to around £17-20 this month, with further rises anticipated.

Uncertainty
A North-West based plastics recycler said: “I think the problem at the moment is that the Chinese government are reviewing what they do and it is creating uncertainty amongst buyers about what material it is ok to import. For some grades demand has slowed dramatically or in some cases ceased.

“I have heard examples where people have had significant problems with shipments on the water and they have no home for the material, financially that could be very difficult.”

Meanwhile, another exporter told letsrecycle.com that there is likely to be a ‘significant’ drop in the value of mixed plastics bottles, which has been particularly targeted by Chinese customs officials.

‘It is a pity we have had to wait for the Chinese government to enact these quality requirements and not for our own government to do so.’

Keith Freegard, vice chairman, BPF recycling group
He said: “The UK will be flooded with mixed bottles as we will see a lot of containers coming back to the UK. Currently only segregated materials are allowed, and there is no route in for mixed bottles.”

But, despite reports that prices have fallen, there is not thought to be danger of a collapse as in October 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story), as there is still demand for material from Chinese manufacturers. However, buyers are believed to be hesitant to purchase material unless it is likely to be accepted into ports.

The exporter added: “The difference between now and 2008 is that people in China still want to buy, but getting the material in is a challenge.”

Inspection
While the specification for the material permitted for export to China has not changed, more stringent checking by the inspection body CCIC in China to prevent poor quality material being imported is causing the depression in the market.

Port customs officials, whose past role has been to check that the correct tax code has been applied to containers entering ports, are now said to be working more closely with CCIC to carry out a ‘two-way check’ of plastic waste imports. This involves the contents of large numbers of containers being inspected.

China is the largest buyer of recovered plastics in the world, processing more half of the plastic waste exported from Europe for recycling in 2011 and 2012 according to figures published by the continental plastics recycling trade body Plastics Recycling Europe (EuPR).

full story By Will Date on lets recycle

Importing to China

Environmental protection controls standard for imported solid waste as raw materials into china.

Definitions

Waste and scrap of plastics- this refers to the remnant materials, leftover materials, and inferior products produced in the manufacturing and processing of plastics or used thermoplastics that have been washed and processed (in chips, blocks, granulated or powder)

Carried waste-this refers to substances mixed in imported waste and scrap of plastics during the production, collection, packing and transportation processes(excluding packing materials for the imported waste and scrap of plastics and other substances that are necessary for transportation).

Control standards and requirements.

Waste and scrap of plastics shall be prohibited from containing the following carried-wastes

（1）Radioactive wastes;

（2）Explosive arms and ammunitions such as discarded bomb and shell, etc.;

（3）Substances identified as hazardous wastes according to GB5085;

（4）Other wastes listed in “National Catalogue of Hazardous Wastes

Carried waste not exceeding more than 1% of the following

（1）Asbestos waste or waste containing asbestos;

（2）Waste and scrap of plastics which are burnt, partly burnt or contaminated by Extinguishing agent;

（3）Film containing photosensitive material;

（4）Used and intact plastic container;

（5）Sealed container;

（6）Other hazardous wastes which cannot be avoided from being mixed into the imported

• Waste and scrap of plastics during the production, collection and transportation processes.
•  Imported used plastic containers should be broken into pieces and should not contain Odours and stains after cleaning.
• In addition to the wastes listed above, other carried-wastes
• (such as waste wood, waste metal, waste glass, thermoplastic, plastic film and plastic products coated with metal, etc.) shall be limited and their total weight shall not exceed 0.5% of the weight of the imported waste and scrap of plastics.

 Baled items not accepted.

• Bottle/ containers
• Sacks
• Netting
• Dirty/food packaging
• Plastic with metal
• Mixed plastics with contaminates
• Fabric mixed with plastic
• Rubber
• Cd’s

Compressed piece of scrap automobile

Control standards and requirements

 On the following components of the automobile that should be dismantled and Removed from the compressed piece of scrap automobile, and on their total weight not to Exceed 0.01% of the weight of the scrap automobile.

（1）Safety airbag,

（2）Battery,

（3）Fire extinguisher and sealed pressure container,

（4）Engine oil, gear oil, fuel and fuel gas, brake fluid and coolant,

（5）Refrigerant, catalyst, and

（6）Tire.

 On the following prohibited carried-wastes

（1）Radioactive wastes,

（2）Explosive arms and ammunitions such as discarded bomb and shell, etc.,

（3）Wastes containing polychlorinated biphenyls,

（4）Substances identified as hazardous wastes according to GB5085, and

（5）Other wastes listed in “National Catalogue of Hazardous Wastes”.

 On the following strictly restricted carried-wastes, and on their total weight not to Exceed 0.01% of the weight of compressed piece of scrap automobile.

（1）Asbestos waste or waste containing asbestos,

（2）Sensitization material waste,

（3）Sealed container, and

（4）Other hazardous wastes shown to be inevitable during the production, collection and Transportation processes of the imported compressed piece of the scrap automobile.

On other restricted carried-wastes, in addition to the wastes listed above, of the Compressed piece of the scrap automobile (such as waste wood, waste paper, Thermoplastic, domestic refuse left on the automobile, etc.), and on their total weight not to Exceed 1% of the weight of the imported compressed piece of scrap automobile.

See full article on CCIC website

A large blaze at a paper recycling plant has been burning for more than ten hours.

The fire at Nordic Recycling Plant, Tilbury, Essex, started around 3:40pm on Sunday 2 December and was attended by eleven fire crews from around Essex.

Incident Commander Divisional Officer, Jon Payne, commented: “The fire is deep seated within the building. Crews are using two main jets and a ground monitor to put out the fire.”

The blaze was finally extinguished at 1.50am on Monday, but crews remained on site until after 2.30pm that afternoon damping the building down.

Three waste firms from Kent and one director have been fined a total of £233,670 after pleading guilty to illegally depositing waste on golf courses and farms in Kent and East Sussex.

On Tuesday (30 October), Countrystyle Recycling Limited, FGS AGRI Limited and the owner and director of both companies, Trevor Heathcote, pleaded guilty to multiple charges relating to the illegal deposit of waste between January and July 2011 in Kent and East Sussex.

As part of the same investigation, haulier Mark Luck Limited from Swanley, Kent, had previously pleaded guilty at Chatham Magistrates’ Court on 28 August 2012 to depositing waste screening fines, the waste produced by the processing of skip and dustcart waste, from two Countrystyle sites on a golf course using fraudulent Duty of Care notes.

The Duty of Care notes described the waste as soils, and was therefore allowed to be tipped at Deansgate Golf Course at Hoo St Werburgh, near Strood for £60 a lorry. Lorry loads of screening fines usually cost between £275 and £330 to dispose of at appropriate landfills. Mark Luck Limited was fined £26,700 and ordered to pay costs of £4,910 and a £15 victim fine.

Due to the fraudulent paperwork, Countrystyle Recycling Limited was only recently identified as being the source of the fines and, at the court hearing at Canterbury Magistrates’ Court last week, the Environment Agency (EA) prosecutors said that EA staff had warned the company about failing to register the fines correctly. The EA also said it found illegally deposited fines at the Folkstone and Strood waste transfer stations on three separate occasions between January and July.

The Environment Agency investigation subsequently discovered several instances of screening fines being removed from Countrystyle’s Folkestone site without the correct paperwork being completed, without the correct rate being paid for the disposal of the waste and without waste being correctly identified.

According to the EA, between May and June 2011, Trevor Heathcote oversaw 29 lorry loads of screening fines, ‘inaccurately described as aggregates on the Duty of Care documentation’, deposited on a farm next to the River Beult and spread between an arable field and ponds

FGS AGRI Limited had registered an exemption with the EA to import waste to the farm for use in construction projects, but screening fines were not included in this. Analysis confirmed that this waste had the ‘potential to pollute the ground and watercourse’ and was removed.

Inaccurately labelled waste was also tipped at a waste processing site in Rye, East Sussex.

Jamie Hamilton, the investigating Environment Agency Officer, said: “The Environment Agency will not tolerate large waste companies failing in their Duty of Care, manipulating their paperwork or illegally depositing polluting waste for financial gain.

“Waste crime puts the environment and human health at risk and undermines legitimate businesses. The waste industry is well aware of its responsibilities with regards to the disposal of waste screening fines. Companies that subsequently make the decision to use sites such as golf courses, farms and inappropriate waste sites for the cheap disposal of such waste should not be surprised when they are prosecuted.”

Both Countrystyle Recycling and Trevor Heathcote pleaded guilty to Duty of Care offences associated with the movement of screening fines at their waste transfer stations at Folkestone and Strood. In total, the three firms and Mr Heathcote were fined £233,670. Countryside Recycling was fined £46,000 and was ordered to pay £7,500 of costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

FGS AGRI Limited was fined £40,000 and was ordered to pay £7,500 and a £15 victim surcharge, while Trevor Heathcote, director and owner of Countrystyle Recycling and FGS AGRI, bore the bulk of the fine, being required to pay £86,000 in fines, £15,000 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Internal procedures at these companies will now be ‘strengthened’ and Trevor Heathcote will attend a series of internal and external training programmes, including one provided by the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board

Guidance has been published by the Home Office on what scrap metal recyclers need to do to ensure they don’t break the law by trading in cash.

However, this guidance may only be relevant for around six months if Richard Ottaway’s Private Members’ Scrap Metal Dealers Bill becomes law.

The introduction to the guidance states: “The changes aim to remove the rewards that make metal theft such a low risk criminal enterprise for metal thieves and unscrupulous dealers.

“The revised legislation creates a new criminal offence which prohibits scrap metal dealers from paying for scrap metal in cash, only permitting electronic payment or payment by cheque.”

Itinerant collectors will be exempted if they have registered with their local authority and have obtained a separate order that exempts them from certain record keeping requirements.

Direct debits, BACS payments, credit transfers and mobile banking are all permitted as are cheques and reloadable electronic money products which are issued to a named account and undertakes full due diligence.

Any payment by cheque or electronic transfer that is anonymous is not allowed.

Scrap metal dealers will also be required to keep a printed copy of the electronic transaction receipt or a copy of the cheque. Records that do not contain this will be considered incomplete and an offence under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act.

Local authorities and the police will be responsible for checking the records of scrap dealers and will be responsible for ensuring compliance under the cashless trading provisions.

This will be implemented from 3 December 2012. 

reported by scrap ex

Following the example of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the  Environment Agency in England has written to exporters to tell them they must reveal the name of the waste producer on Annex VII documents when shipping waste and recycling.

A recent ruling at the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that German scrap metal company Interseroh had to provide the waste producer’s name and details on the Annex VII documentation despite Interseroh arguing it could damage their business by providing commercially confidential details.

It had been common practice that the intermediary company would put something like ‘refer to shipper’. But now full details will need to be included.

In the letter, the Environment Agency wrote: “I am writing to advise you that in accordance with Regulation 18)b) of the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 it is an offence to transport waste other than in accordance with the Annex VII document.

“Not only must the Annex VII form accompany the waste in the container, but it must be properly and fully completed. This includes confirmation that there is a contract in place between the person arranging the shipment and the consignee where the shipment cannot be completed or is discovered to be illegal.

“Please also note the recent European case law has stated that details of the consignee cannot be withheld or left out on grounds of commercial confidentiality: the annex VII needs to be completed in full. Witholding such information would constitute an offence under Regulation 18(b) of the TFS Regulations as the shipment would not be in accordance with Annex VII document and the requirements of Article 18 of the European Regulation.”

reported by scrap ex

A new report has shown that the UK is close to the bottom of a list of   European nations when it comes to plastics recycling and energy recovery.

Out of European countries, only Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Malta performed worse in 2011.

The UK has a recycling rate of approximately 20 per cent of plastics with another approximately 7 per cent going to energy recovery.

This compares badly to Switzerland which recycles or recovers energy from almost 100 per cent of its plastic waste.

However, Norway is Europe’s best recycler of plastics at around 36 per cent.

The report, Plastics – the Facts 2012, is published by Plastics Europe representing trade bodies European Plastics Converters, European Plastics Recyclers and the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations.

With the European plastics industry having set itself a goal of zero plastics going to landfill by 2020, it looks as though this target will be missed. At the current rate of progress, it will be 2037 before this target is met.

However, the good news is that 4.8 per cent more plastic was recovered across Europe in 2011 compared to 2010 with an overall recovery rate of 59.1 per cent.

Estonia and Finland showed the best improvement over the period from 2006 to 2011 with the former improving by 45 per cent and the latter by 30 per cent.

The nine best countries in Europe all recovered more than 90 per cent of their plastic waste

reported by scrap ex

Scrap Yard Blaze Extinguished After 2 Days
Fire crews have managed to extinguish the blaze that broke out at the beginning of the week at a Scrapyard in Birmingham.
At approximately 19:00 BST on Monday, 100 tonnes of scrap metal caught fire at the EMR yard in Landor Street, Nechells.

At its peak more than 45 firefighters from stations across the West Midlands battled the fire. A nearby canal was used to get the fire under control; they contacted the water board to make sure the levels in the canal did not get too low.

Reported by waste Insure

Hose reels from eight fire engines were used to tackle the inferno along with a water tower and hydraulic platforms.

The fire was monitored throughout with the use of thermal imaging equipment; it was initially believed by fire officers that it would take several days to extinguish.

Group commander at West Midlands Fire Service, Jim Sinnett, said: “The fire was focused on one 35-foot high pile of scrap metal. Luckily the personnel at the scrap metal yard spotted the fire quickly, and called us straight away, so we were able to start work on the fire early on.”

Mr Sinnett also told how the metal had to be pulled apart with JCBs in a “long and laborious process” as the water could not penetrate it.

The 50 people are employed by the firm worked in teams to stop the fire spreading to the building and plant equipment.

Firefighters have concluded in an investigation that the blaze started accidentally.

Largest Fire in London for Years

45 fire engines arrived to fight the fire, which broke out at around 13:15 BST on 12 August at Hunts Waste recycling centre on Chequers Lane in Dagenham, approximately 8 miles from the Olympic Park.

Smoke was visible for miles, with some claiming to have seen it from Olympic Park; thankfully there were no injuries.

The blaze was brought under control just before 18:00 BST, but firefighters stayed throughout the night to damp down the building and continue to monitor it.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: “We’ve not seen a fire of this size in London for several years – it’s certainly a dramatic end to the Olympics for the London Fire Brigade.

“That said though, we are still able to attend incidents across the capital and the fire cover we’re providing at the Olympic venues has not been affected.

“At this stage we aren’t sure how the blaze started as our focus is getting the flames under control.

“Fire crews will remain at the scene for as long as necessary and a thorough investigation will begin once the fire is out in order to establish how it started.

At its height, flames engulfed the entire 100m by 50m building 

Reported by waste Insure