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It’s all a load of rubbish


China’s restrictions on the waste it will accept have major implications for the UK and its freight forwarders


As BIFA has previously warned in these pages, new Chinese restrictions on imported waste, introduced on 1 January, are set to have significant implications for the international freight transport, logistics and supply chain sectors. The pictures of mounting piles of waste material offloaded in Hong Kong, because it can no longer be shipped to China for recycling, have attracted significant media attention. China announced last July that from 1 January it would impose much stricter quality restrictions on imported cardboard, as well as banning the import of 24 types of waste material, including plastic and mixed paper, in an effort to improve China’s environmental profile.


What China will accept The new quality standards mean cardboard will only be accepted by China if the material is almost completely uncontaminated with other waste products: contamination rates must be below 0.5%, rather than the 1.5% previously applied. This means cardboard that still contains staples or is contaminated with dirt and/or oil


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could be rejected and sent back on containerships to the countries of origin. Also affected are certain types of plastic and, in particular, very thin types. Countries including the US and the UK export


millions of tonnes of cardboard and other waste products to China each year for recycling. In fact, it is estimated that approximately half of all containers shipped to China from the UK contain waste for recycling. There is evidence that there was a decrease in the number of such shipments booked with carriers prior to Christmas 2017. Some carriers, including Hapag-Lloyd,


advised customers as early as last September that they would stop accepting cargo of scrap plastic and waste paper from Europe, the US and Asia that were due to arrive at Chinese ports after 31 December 2017. At this point it is important to emphasise that


the changes did not amount to a total ban on imported waste products, but on the import of 24 of the dirtiest and most polluting types of waste, ranging from household plastic waste to


unsorted paper and recycled textiles to slag. The impact on shipping lines may be


significant because waste paper, scrap plastics and metal scrap, are among the more significant backhaul cargoes for container shipping lines. The second half of 2017 saw a decrease in the level of waste being shipped to China. Many carriers have announced that they will no longer be accepting waste cargoes destined for a Chinese port, increasing the danger of deliberate misdeclaration of the goods.


Effects on profitability By carrying such low value backhaul cargoes, the container lines cover their costs incurred in what amounts to re-positioning their ships. The ban is already reducing revenue and profitability on these backhaul sailings for the container industry. Some believe that the Indian recycling industry will increase its capacity, but similar concerns are being expressed there relative to the environmental impact of this activity. BIFA would suggest that all Members are


cautious when handling this type of business and check that the shipper is aware of, and can confirm compliance with, the new regulations. The danger is that non-compliant cargo will be returned to the UK at the sender’s cost, which will increase the financial exposure of the forwarder.


February 2018


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