Page 9 - Plastics News December 2019

FROM THE EDITOR'S PEN

Survival of the fittest

he Industry seems to be realigning and shaping up with the current trends, be it Domestic
Tand global.
The government has granted six months extension to listed recycling units in three special
economic zones (SEZs) to import such materials. Domestic recycling units across the country
face ban on import of plastic wastes following environmental concerns. The Board of Approval
for SEZs under the chairmanship of Anup Wadhawan, Secretary, Department of Commerce
and with members from all leading departments involved in the monitoring of imports, met
two weeks ago and decided to extend the letter of agreement (LoAs) for the three SEZs units
for six months till May 31, 2020. The LoAs were scheduled to expire on November 30, 2019.
The regulations are sure to affect global scrap plastic markets as recyclers scramble once
again to find new markets. The three SEZs in which recycling units are now allowed to import
plastic scrap include Kandla Special Economic Zone (Kasez), Kandla, Falta SEZ, Kolkata, and
Noida Special Economic Zone (NSEZ), Noida. “The board after deliberations, decided to grant
an extension of validity of LoA for a period of six months beyond November 30, 2019 i.e. to
May 31, 2020 to the listed plastic recycling units in KASEZ, Falta SEZ and NSEZ. The board
directed to call a meeting with the committee on policy for plastic recycling to discuss the Mr. Rajiv B.Tolat
policy matter and while the policy provisions are deliberated, the physical exports of the units
shall be assessed on annual basis,” said the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Approval
under the Ministry of Commerce. Earlier the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF)
vide its notification dated March 1, 2019 prohibited import of solid plastics waste in SEZs and
Export Oriented Units (EoUs).

Though the extension is permitted and is perhaps likely to give some respite to few dozen
plastic recycling units, the fact remains the country doesn’t have the infrastructure or capacity
to process all of the tons of plastic scrap entering the country and this is a matter of concern.
Using the domestic Plastics waste for laying road is still under nascent stage and this should
be actively promoted further.
Also according to MOEF, the guidelines on plastic waste management are ready, and it could
be rolled out any time within in six months. Perhaps this could make things simpler for the
manufacturers in implementing EPR for as of now there is too much of ambiguity. However
there is dire need to ensure the PWM are ‘do-able’ without any much legal discrepancies and
it needs Industry friendly.

Team AIPMA is all set for the 11th edition of Plastivision (PVI) 2020, that is to be hosted from
16 to 20 January 2020, at the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai.
The trade show is expected to cross over all earlier record including the number of visitors and
business transactions. Let’s hope for the best and we all work towards the success of PVI 2020.
Wish Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to all our readers!!

Rajiv B.Tolat
Hon. Editor
publication@aipma.net

9 December 2019 Plastics News