Page 41 - Plastics News August 2019

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

US asks developed nations to omit Trade plastic bottles for metro
Basel plastic rules tickets in Rome

ederal regulators are asking countries that are major he Italian capital has launched a 12-month trial of
Fbuyers of U.S. recyclables to refrain from implementing TWKH SURJUDP FDOOHG ´5LFLFOL 9LDJJL µ RU 5HF\FOH
new trade restrictions laid out in the Basel Convention, a Travel, at three subway stations. The program allows
treaty covering global scrap material shipments. U.S. EPA FRPPXWHUV WR GHSRVLW SODVWLF ERWWOHV LQ UHWXUQ IRU ÀYH
Administrator Andrew euro cents each, according to The Local, which can
be used toward the cost of a ride on the metro. Those
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to the Organisation for cents can be accrued on the metro app until they hit
Economic Cooperation the price of a metro ticket, which is currently €1.50.
and Development For the math-challenged, that means a ride costs 30
bottles, which means 30 fewer plastic bottles eternally
(OECD), wrote that littering the streets of the Eternal City. After the
the OECD countries year-long trial is over, Rome will review the results
have “attained to see if the scheme should be expanded beyond its
high environmental initial three stations.Machines have been placed at
standards and have the three Rome metro stations which allow passengers to
capacity to manage waste in an environmentally sound
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PDQQHU µ ZLWK OHVV WKDQ RI VFUDS SODVWLF ´PLVPDQDJHGµ plastic bottles, local authorites have announced The
among OECD members. The U.S. has a unique stake in machines were placed in the Cipro station on Line A,
asking that OECD countries not adopt the Basel changes. Piramide on Line B and San Giovanni on Line C. Each
The U.S. is the only OECD member that is not a party ERWWOH UHF\FOHG LV ZRUWK WKH HTXLYDOHQW RI ÀYH HXUR
to the Basel Convention.Under the current terms of cents in points, meaning you need to recycle 30 bottles
the Convention, OECD member countries can continue to accumulate enough points for ticket. Points will be
receiving shipments from non-Basel party countries. transferred to passengers through the My Cicero and
TabNet apps, according to public transport authority
If the OECD adopts the Basel changes, however, that
trade relationship could change, hampering scrap $7$& :KLOH WKLV UHF\FOLQJ SURJUDP LV FOHYHU DV
material shipments to other developed nations. The Environment Minister Sergio Costa pointed “the ideal
Basel changes, which were given the thumbs up during a
meeting of world governments in May, were framed as a
way to tackle the growing marine debris problem. Among
other measures, the changes will impose restrictions on
scrap plastic shipments, particularly targeting the trade
of mixed plastics. As far as how they affect the U.S.,
it could theoretically prevent the U.S. from exporting
mixed plastics to any country that’s a party to the Basel
Convention, except for OECD countries. The OECD includes
Canada and Mexico as well as most European nations, South
Korea and a handful of other countries.Although their full thing would be to consume less single-use plastic and
impact on the recycling industry is unclear – the changes RSW IRU UHXVDEOH ERWWOHV µ %XW LI \RX GR EX\ D SODVWLF
RIÀFLDOO\ WDNH KROG -DQ ² H[SHUWV DQWLFLSDWH HYHQ ZDWHU ERWWOH RU ÀQG RQH OLWWHULQJ WKH VWUHHW \RX FDQ
larger disruption to the industry than the export strife trade it in toward a ride on the subway. Rome’s mayor,
spurred by China’s import restrictions. Countries that are Virginia Raggi, who back in March promised a ban on
parties to the Basel Convention must adopt the Convention VLQJOH XVH SODVWLFV VDLG WKH SURMHFW LV WKH ÀUVW RI LWV
changes into their own national laws. NLQG LQ D ´ODUJH (XURSHDQ FDSLWDO µ

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41 August 2019 Plastics News