Simon Ellin, chief executive of The Recycling Association, says the recycling industry needs more support from Defra and WRAP following China’s impending crackdown on waste imports.
Recently, four trade associations joined forces to write to Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey MP asking her to take urgent action to support the recycling industry.
With the Chinese Government announcing its intention to ban the import of the vast majority of plastics (apart from post-production manufacturing material), mixed paper and certain metals from 31 December 2017, this is a very difficult time for the entire industry.
The letter was signed by myself from The Recycling Association, along with representatives from Confederation of Paper Industries, Resource Association and Environmental Services Association.
With the Chinese ban potentially very damaging for the UK recycling industry, we have asked Defra to work with us and help us negotiate with the Chinese Government.
In the letter, we asked for Defra to send a delegation to China to negotiate at a high level in support of our desire to continue to provide the Chinese economy with the secondary materials that they need, on terms that are reasonable and continue to protect the environment as well as being practicable in a UK context.
With the Chinese ban potentially very damaging for the UK recycling industry, we have asked Defra to work with us and help us negotiate with the Chinese Government. At the very least, a longer transition time would help the UK recycling industry meet the 0.3% contamination tolerance that has been proposed by the Chinese Government for the materials that will still be allowed.
In my work on this with other worldwide trade associations, I am aware that the United States Government has already made high level representation to the Chinese Government to protect its recycling industry.
We have asked Defra to do the same so that governments from around the world can present a united front to the Chinese Government and ask it to reconsider its position. Clearly, we are still part of the European Union, and if Defra is not yet able to make its own case to the Chinese Government, then at the least the European Union should have these discussions with the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection.
WRAP should return to market development, to creating demand-pull measures to encourage the use of secondary materials in UK manufactured products, as well as link this to the developing Government Industrial Strategy.
We also want to see WRAP re-discover the purpose it was originally set up for, which was for market development in the recycling sector. While WRAP’s work in developing the circular economy is to be welcomed, this should not be at the expense of seeking ways to support the UK recycling industry.
WRAP should return to market development, to creating demand-pull measures to encourage the use of secondary materials in UK manufactured products, as well as link this to the developing Government Industrial Strategy.
In all of my years in the industry, the Chinese import ban is possibly the most serious threat to the UK recycling sector that I have come across.
Everyone across the supply chain, along with the recycling sector, the Government and the likes of WRAP, must work together to ensure that we are left with viable markets for our recyclable materials.
As can be seen by the four trade associations working together on this, the severity of the current situation requires partnership at this time. We will happily work with anyone we can if it means UK recyclers continue to have access to markets for their materials.
