At the European Union’s suggestion, the Conference of Parties to the Basel Convention will consider adding a new “R code”—which would designate reuse/refurbishment—to the recovery and recycling operations listed in Annex IV of the Convention. The EU has been looking at a range of proposed changes to Annex IV for several years, but always within…
On Jan. 27, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change published a notice in the National Gazette that imports of postindustrial and/or preconsumer polyethylene would be permitted into Export-Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones. According to the notice, imports are permitted for 18 months with a requirement of at least 50% exports in terms…
The incoming U.S. Congress and Biden administration will provide both big opportunities and potential challenges for recyclers in the coming year, Billy Johnson, ISRI’s chief lobbyist, says. In an election summary and analysis Johnson prepared and shared with members in a January webinar, and in a separate phone conversation, Johnson outlined the policy priorities he…
The United States Trade Representative’s annual report to Congress on China’s World Trade Organization compliance, published in mid-January during the final few days of the Trump Administration, acknowledges China’s import ban on recyclable materials among its key U.S. concerns. The section of the 2020 report on China’s recyclable material ban is several times the length…
The governments of Switzerland and Ghana have formally proposed controls on the movement of all electronic scrap under the Basel Convention. In their statement of reasoning for proposing this change, the governments point out that “waste electrical and electronic equipment” (or WEEE) that is not treated in an environmentally sound manner harms human health and…
China has begun to implement its new regulations for iron and steel scrap imports, effective Jan. 1. The policy recognizes that “recycled iron and steel raw materials” (GB/T39733-2020) are not solid waste and may be freely imported. Exporters of iron and steel scrap to China should make sure that the material complies with the standard…
Update Jan. 26, 2021: The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced a delay in the effective date of the Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis System from Jan. 25 to March 29. Licenses will no longer be required for covered aluminum product imports beginning on Jan. 25, as was previously stated in the final rule. Unless…
On Jan. 1, 2021, the Basel Convention treaty entered new policy territory as it began explicitly regulating the international trade of nonhazardous scrap plastics. The BC-14/12 decision, which was adopted at the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention in May 2019 and will amend several of the Convention’s annexes, has significant implications for recyclers—even…
On Jan. 1, 2021, the Basel Convention treaty entered new policy territory as it began explicitly regulating the international trade of nonhazardous scrap plastics. The BC-14/12 decision, which was adopted at the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention in May 2019 and will amend several of the Convention’s annexes, has significant implications for recyclers—even…