China plans to boost domestic recycling after it curbed imports on scrap plastic. China’s policy, such as the Green Fence and National Sword has altered the global trade flows of scrap plastic and upended the recycling industry.
China is incorporating waste collecting and recycling into its top priority to increase life quality in the country. More than 40 cities in China have issued pilot waste sorting programs trash and recyclables. Citizens are required for the first time to separate and sort their waste.
Zheng Kai, the chairman of China Synthetic Resin Supply and Sale Association, said the focus on waste management could bring a positive impact on the scrap plastics industry. Ben Ho, president of the China Thermoforming Association, said he had been involved in creating new legislation on waste sorting and saw it influencing the industry. He said there is an uptrend of new recycling companies registering in China.
However, Chinese scrap plastic exporters were forced to adjust their business strategy to adapt to the new policy. Dollar King Industrial Co. relocated its plastic scrap recycling operations to Malaysia. So, instead of importing scrap plastic to China, the company recycles it in Malaysia to produce pellets which will then be delivered to China.
