ReMA President Visits Chinese Embassy in Washington
President Wiener was accompanied to the meeting by Bernie Lee, ISRI’s Research Analyst/Commodities.
Wiener said that the meeting was productive and that the Minister-Counselor and First Secretary were enthusiastic about the recycling industry and the need for cooperation to assist and promote the industry. A number of issues were discussed including National Sword; China Certification and Inspection North America (CCINA); the harmonization of ReMA Specs with those of the China Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) regulations; adoption of U.S. Best Practices; and a discussion of the amount of scrap business between the American scrap recycling industry and China.
National Sword
Since China’s establishment of its National Sword program, ReMA members have been confused as to its purpose and why it was established. Wiener believes that many of the problems or confusion surrounding National Sword may derive from the difference between the words “scrap” and “waste” in Chinese. The discussion led to Wiener explaining ISRI’s experience with EPA with regard to the two words (also known to ReMA members as, “Scrap Is Not Waste.”) The Chinese Embassy officials said they would raise the matter to their government to try to clarify the issue.
CCINA
In August 2016, China announced that CCINA will no longer be the sole company doing pre-shipment inspections for recyclable materials. During this discussion, the First Secretary said China will announce additional options for pre-shipment services around the end of 2017. The First Secretary requested that ReMA provide the names of companies that it believes ought to be included in the upcoming announcement. ReMA members who wish to make recommendations should send them to Adina Renee Adler at [email protected]. The matter of double inspections was also raised and it was suggested that it be raised to AQSIQ officials during Wiener visit to Beijing in late May.
Harmonizing ReMA Specs and MEP Regulations
Because of inconsistencies between ReMA specs, which are used globally, MEP regulations complications sometimes arise. The Minister-Counselor and the First Secretary said they will try to identify the appropriate contact within China’s MEP with who to discuss this and other issues in Beijing in late May.
Adopting U.S. Best Practices
The Chinese officials were interested learning more from ReMA about the U.S. Scrap Recycling Industry. They inquired about regulations, radiation controls, etc. Wiener offered to provide them with a tour of some scrap facilities later this year.