Page 51 - Plastics News May 2017

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

China sharpens sword for scrap plastic imports

orries about further tightening of China's imports One target has already emerged: hard-to-clean plastic
Wof scrap plastic were front and center at the bags. CSPA Executive President Steve Wong told Plastics
Replas conference and trade show in the southern city News that the government is targeting "anything which is
of Dongguan May 11, with businesses reporting new contaminated," such as post-consumer and agricultural
difficulties and peppering government officials for clarity. scrap plastic. The government now reckons 0.5 percent
as the threshold of contamination, Wong said.

"You need to decide if the scrap you are recycling can fit
into the government system," said Ju. Chinese plastics
recyclers are already moving toward greater reliance on
domestic scrap. Scrap imports peaked in 2011, according
to government data presented at the conference.

Nova ordered to pay major
settlement to Dow in polymer

patent suit

n what could be the largest patent infringement
"This is the most difficult conference in my experience,"
said Wang Wang, secretary general of the China Scrap Idamage award in Canadian history, Nova Chemicals
Plastics Association, the organizer of the May 11-12 event. Corporation has been ordered to pay a major settlement
to The Dow Chemical Company after a recent Canadian
Beijing launched a new nationwide crackdown on scrap court ruling in a case involving polyethylene resins,
imports, called National Sword, in February. That as per canplastics.com. In late April, a federal judge
was followed up by an April 18 announcement at the issued a written decision that details how much Dow
34th meeting of the Central Leading Group for can claim from an estimated US$1 billion in revenue
Deepening Overall Reform, headed by China's President Nova collected while infringing on Dow’s Canadian
Xi Jinping, that called for unspecified further restrictions patent 2,160,705, which sets out a method to make
on imported recyclables. the thin plastic packaging used in end products such as
While many details remain murky, some recycling industry garbage bags and food wrappings. Dow actually won its
officials are interpreting the April 18 announcement infringement case in federal court in 2014, when Nova
as a sign the government will move toward banning was found liable for infringement of a patent owned by
scrap imports. Dow by Nova’s manufacture and sale of its Surpass film-
grade polymers. Litigation continued on how the parties
"It is a significant change of [the] recycling business," said should calculate the damages, however, and a damages
Kathy Xuan, a board member of the recycling committee trial was heard in Toronto last December and January.
of the Beijing-based China Plastics Processing Industry Justice Simon Fothergill issued the public version of his
Association, and CEO of recycler Parc Corp. in Romeoville, 78-page written decision on April 19.
Ill. She called the announcement a "huge surprise" and said
it could prompt recycling companies to consider leaving Justice Fothergill ordered Calgary-based Nova to disgorge
China. A translation of the order provided by Xuan said profits it made during the infringement. The companies
the Chinese government is concerned about the health must now use the judge’s methodology to figure out how
and environmental impacts from imports of all kinds of much those profits should be. “The parties’ accountants
will calculate the sums owed by Nova to Dow based on
scrap materials, and said that under timelines yet to be the conclusions reached by the Court in this stage of the
developed, imports "will be significantly reduced." reference,” Justice Fothergill wrote.

51 May 2017 | Plastics News