Plastic scrap generators more likely to sell locally

Dubai – There is likely to be a substantial increase in local recycling and a reduced availability of good-quality plastic scrap in Europe over the course of the year as new production facilities are established across the continent, contends Surendra Borad Patawari of Gemini Corporation NV, chairman of the BIR world recycling organisation’€™s plastics committee.

‘Lower carbon dioxide emissions owing to shorter distances and also clear traceability in recycling are encouraging scrap generators to sell to local recyclers,’ he states in the BIR’s latest Plastics Mirror.

The market atmosphere for the plastics recycling industry in China and Hong Kong has been gradually revitalised following the recent recovery in oil prices, Dr Steve Wong of the China Scrap Plastics Association says in the Plastics Mirror.

‘Buyers in the market are generally looking for large volumes of scrap which is of high purity as well as easily washed and processed, such as LDPE film scrap, HDPE regrind for extrusion, TV cases and PC bottles,’ he points out.

Wong also notes reports that Chinese Customs will tighten import controls on plastics scrap by: inspecting incoming containers thoroughly; random visits to registered recycling plants in China; and tracking the final destinations of imported scrap materials.