BIR delegation discusses key issues with Chinese associations

China – Top officials from within the BIR world recycling organisation last week visited three of its key association members in China – the China Association of Metal Scrap Utilization (CAMU), the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association Recycling Metal Branch (CMRA) and the China Scrap Plastics Association (CSPA) – to reaffirm their mutual co-operation and to call for even stronger links.

The BIR delegation comprised president Ranjit Baxi, non-ferrous metals division president David Chiao and also Ma Hongchang, BIR’s special advisor in China.

Baxi told CAMU representatives that China’s rapid development over recent years, especially in its steel industry, has put the country in an important position in the world, adding that recycling and steel scrap usage save energy, reduce carbon emissions and make a significant contribution towards climate change mitigation.

In his dialogue with CMRA officials, Baxi expressed pleasure at the high level of co-operation between the two organisations over the years, stressing that metal recycling in China has considerably reduced carbon dioxide emissions while conserving natural resources. Baxi called for closer links at the scientific, social and institutional level in order to share China’s experiences with the rest of the world.

In meeting officials of the CSPA, Baxi reaffirmed the Chinese association’s important contribution to the exchange of trade information about the country’s plastics recycling sector. The two parties also discussed China’s National Sword initiative, as well as current domestic regulations on waste plastic imports.

The conversation took place against a backdrop of some 5000 containers loaded with plastic scrap being stuck at the port of Hong Kong because no clearance to enter China has been granted under the stricter National Sword inspection regime. According to the CSPA, these containers may now be auctioned off.