Page 21 from: October 2014

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China haslostan appeal at the World
Trade Organization (WTO) relating to its
strict limits on rare earth exports. Restric-
tions imposed by one country exclu-
sively seeking to protect its own metals
market are in fundamental confl ict with
global trade rules, the WTO has con-
fi rmed in its latest ruling on the matter.
‘China has not demonstrated that the
export quotas that China applies to
various forms of rare earths, tungsten
and molybdenum by virtue of the series
of measures at issue are justifi ed,’ a
WTO panel has concluded. The world
trade body has called on China, which
produces 90% of globally-available rare

earths, to accept the offi cial WTO deci-
sion and immediately rectify its ‘unfair’
export restrictions. It adds: ‘China did
not appeal any of the fi nal conclusions
of the WTO panel, but appealed only
limited aspects of the panel’s reasoning
and certain intermediate fi ndings.’
China initiated a signifi cant reduction of
its rare earth exports in 2010, with the
Beijing government introducing export
duties too. In this way, domestic busi-
nesses are said to have received prefer-
ential treatment in the supply of rare
earths. The matter of this ‘protectionist
move’ was brought before the WTO in
2012 by Japan, the USA and the EU.

Ongoing discussions at World Trade
Organization (WTO) level could ulti-
mately result in an Environmental Ser-
vices and Goods Agreement, according
to BIR. This would bring welcome
change to the ‘ineffi cient mix’ of tariffs
and non-tariff barriers currently affect-
ing trade both in secondary raw materi-
als and in machinery and equipment
used by the recycling industries around
the world, according to BIR.
BIR’s environmental & technical director
Ross Bartley says the world recycling
organisation is calling on its affi liated
national associations and companies ‘to
promote to each of their WTO negotia-

tors that secondary raw materials, as
well as machinery and equipment used
by the recycling industries, are added to
the WTO list of environmental goods’.
www.wto.org

WTO: China’s rare earth restrictions ‘unfair’

Dutch start-up company One
Nights Tent has found a clever way to
combine a love for music with a practi-
cal, sustainable lifestyle by providing
bio-based, compostable and ‘100%
recyclable’ two-man tents at major
music festivals.

The design is similar to that of ‘a simple
tunnel tent’, says company founder
Devin Malone, originally from the US
state of Alaska. But there the similarity
ends, as this camping innovation is made
from a much lighter blown-fi lm material
and is designed ‘from the ground up’.
Malone explains: ‘At One Nights Tent, we
believe that festival camping should
be easier, cheaper, more fun, and more
friendly to the environment, and to the
people making the products.’ Users do not
have to worry about where their tent
came from or where it will end up because
One Nights Tent provides its products on
location and arranges take-back when the
time comes for festival-goers to head back
home. www.psssh.nl

Dutch company demonstrates
recycling in-tent

GlobeTelecom,aleading telecom-
munications company in the Philippines,
is embarking on its ‘biggest and most
ambitious’ mobile recycling programme
to date in a bid to tackle the massive
build-up of e-scrap.
Project 1 Phone has been launched
because an increasing number of people
in the Philippines are replacing their
mobile phones on a yearly basis. Con-
sumers can now donate unused, non-
working or damaged phones and tab-
lets, mobile phone batteries and even
personal computers to the campaign.
All of the collected devices will be sent
to TES-AMM for recovery of both pre-
cious metals and plastics.

Globe notes that any party – from cor-
porations to schools and local govern-
ment agencies – are welcome to par-
ticipate in the programme by adopting
recycling bins. Also, the company has
pledged that the proceeds will go
towards building ‘at least 40 school
buildings’ in the Aklan area of the coun-
try. www.globe.com.ph

E-scrap recycling push
in the Philippines

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