China to enforce regulation on imports of recycled plastics

The Chinese Government has told plastic recycling companies that they must report any imports that are banned or contravene environmental protection rules, as it cracks down on the quality of plastic imports.

In an announcement made by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Commerce and National Development and Reform Commission, it said that companies must comply with regulations.

This means that it will strictly enforce regulations that prohibit the import of unwashed, post-consumer plastics as well as banning the transfer of imported waste to a company other than that allowed by the import licence.

It also will not allow companies to sell unwashed leftover plastic from sorting of imported plastic and paper.

The Chinese Government has also told local environmental protection agencies to inspect plastic recycling companies and publish the list of qualified recyclers, as well as publish the list of companies that fail inspections.

From 1 January 2013, only companies that have qualified will be able to import plastics.

It has also announced new policies for both domestic and imported plastic that includes not allowing recycling in residential areas, and a ban on processing plastic without sufficient water treatment facilities.  These new rules will be implemented from 1 October 2012.