ON A MISSION FOR HIGHER QUALITY
Just before Christmas, Indonesian government officials and stake-
holders visited a depot of paper recycler DS Smith in Uxbridge on
the edge of London, as part of a field trip to see UK waste man-
agement and recycling operations at first hand. Purpose of the
journey: to learn how DS Smith and others manage quality in their
collections of paper and in recycling it for export.
Quality is key since China and several other countries in South-
East Asia, including Indonesia, closed their borders for all low-
grade scrap materials. Recovered paper exporters across Europe
and North America are making huge investments in better tech-
nology and sorting processes to help secure their business and
worldwide markets.
DS Smith is no exception. The company was delighted to wel-
come the Indonesian delegation onsite and showcase the pro-
cesses they have in place to make sure materials leaving their UK
depots meet the higher quality standards demanded by overseas
customers. ‘We operate a circular business model that is based
on the highest quality materials. Being transparent with our trade
partners is crucial to this process,’ said Jochen Behr (third from
right), head of recycling at DS Smith.
Meanwhile the US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has
expressed its concerns about Indonesia’s latest import regulations
for scrap. One of the things that are ‘worrisome’, says ISRI, is that
only direct shipments will be allowed, defined as direct from the
United States (or other supplier country) to Indonesia. This means
that trans-shipment via, for example, Singapore would no longer
be allowed.
ISRI has sent a number of messages to government contacts in
Jakarta and the embassy in Washington asking for clarification
A U T H O R Martijn Reintjes
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