Page 44 - Plastics News July 2018

internAtionAL news

Asian countries adopting stricter Penzance became Britain's first

plastic scrap limits affects China ever plastic-free town

he China Scrap Plastics Association ast year, Penzance became the first town in
Tis warning that recent moves by LBritain to receive “plastic-free” status from
governments in Southeast Asia to crack Surfers Against Sewage (SAS). The former single-issue
down on imports of plastic scrap and movement, founded in Cornwall in 1990, has become
a national marine conservation charity with plastics
electronic waste is having a "devastating" in its sights. But, rather than target shopping bags or
impact on China's recycling industry. plastic-lined coffee cups, SAS is attempting to unite
Faced with China’s National Sword policy whole communities
on the import of plastics wastes, processing operations against single-use
have been moving to South East Asian countries such as plastic of all types,
Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. However, these nations including straws,
are also sharpening their focus on environmental controls, bottles, packaging,
according to Dr Steve Wong of Fukutomi Co. Ltd and the takeaway boxes,
China Scrap Plastics Association. The e-scrap industry was cot t on buds,
thus facing “a lot of challenges” and may have to reshape clingfilm and forks.
itself, he told the BIR E-Scrap Committee meeting in
Barcelona. Dr. Steve Wong, the executive president of the These were all
items among the wretched flotsam that washed up on
China Scrap Plastic Association (CSPA), says an eighth list Cornish beaches in horrifying quantities when storms
of 2018 import permits released by China’s Ministry of the devastated the south-west coast in February 2014.
Environment (MEP) in mid-March continues to place the Rachel Yates grew up in Penzance and remembers
nation’s plastic scrap import levels far behind its volumes campaigning against CFCs as a child, but it was the
in prior years. aftermath of the storms that shook her into action as
The mid-March permits had a combined import volume an adult after she joined an SAS beach-cleaning event.
of 18,200 tons to be received by 14 plastic recycling Yates joined SAS and made it her mission to achieve
facilities, which Wong calls “the largest in terms of plastic-free status for Penzance, according to criteria
quantity so far” in 2018. The 2018 year-to-date total of that the charity had been developing. Its five-point
44,760 tons for 43 recycling plants puts the nation on plan involves urging local government to change its
track for an “annualized total that can potentially be behaviour and support the campaign; encouraging
up to 215,000 tons, which would be a drastic shortfall businesses to ditch single-use plastic; working with
of 7.1 million tons against the 2016 yearly imports of 7.3 schools and youth groups; arranging events including
million tons,” states Wong, referring to what would be a plastic pickups; and creating a steering group to
97 percent volume reduction. Wong, who also is chairman continue to grow the mission.. Since then, more than
330 communities all over the country have applied
of Hong Kong-based Fukutomi Co. Ltd. and a member of to follow the town’s lead. So far, 29 have achieved
two Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) committees, the status, including Tynemouth in the north-east.
adds that even the assumption of 215,000 tons imported The applicants include dozens of inland communities
in 2018 “could be too optimistic, as a policy to enforce including Milton Keynes and Ripon. Yates is determined
reduction has been adopted.”The Committee’s Chairman to ensure that plastic-free communities are not just
Dr Thomas Papageorgiou of Anamet SA in Greece agreed made up of people rewarding themselves for their
that China’s change of approach to mixed plastics and own virtue, for which they are prepared and able to
mixed metals had “affected the business significantly”, pay a premium. (Kavanaugh’s packaging costs tripled
creating “a challenge and an opportunity” for the industry when she ditched plastic, some of which inevitably
in Europe where many investments in new capacity and trickled down to customers.) She says that the numbers
output improvements were being seen. He described involved, more than 70 businesses have signed up in
himself as “very optimistic” about prospects for Europe. Penzance so far.

Plastics News July 2018 44