A range of topics were discussed at the Cycle Link International conference held in Shanghai including the consequences of the control measures in China for local authorities and exporters.
This second report continues coverage of the event (see Cycle Link article one).
The China conference and mill visit, from February 1-3, was attended by Mike Smith of the UK’s Environment Agency. He heads up a special troubleshooting unit created by government to cope with the impacts of the restrictions, particularly on the used plastics and paper sectors.
Permit changes
Mike Smith, senior advisor at the Environment Agency, told the event permits could be changed to put in process control
Mr Smith told the conference delegates – mainly suppliers of waste paper to Cycle Link for its Chinese mill partner Shanying Interntional – that he would like to see changes to the permit rules applied to waste and recycling sites in the UK. “I want to put more and more process control into the requirements of our permits. This may give your buyer more certainty.”
The Agency official also touched on the UK’s PRN system which is used to confirm recycling of packaging. He said that if “exports were gaining PRNs and the material was rubbish, those involved would be prosecuted. The packaging regulations favour those exporting and it is not what we want to encourage.”
Mr Smith indicated that changes may lie ahead with extra packaging waste costs for producers, saying that “Europe is a more expensive system and it is probable that UK producers might have to work harder.”
He went on to warn exporters that not only do they face more checks at Chinese ports, in the UK “more port inspections are planned as the EA will have more money next year”.
Local authorities
A panel discussion, chaired by Trevor Williams, recycling commodities trading manager for the UK company Biffa, heard a report from Australia of problems at the local authority level.
(l-r) Trevor Williams of Biffa and Terry van Iersel of Australia’s SKM Recycling
Terry van Iersel, commodity trading manager for Melbourne-based SKM Recycling, said that with regard to shipments from Australia to China: “I am worried that while the CCIC agency might say ‘we are meeting the new standard’, we don’t actually know until the material arrives in China. Our government is panicking about what is happening. In local government, one of the contractors is declaring force majeure and ending contracts. We have been saying we are not going to pay you to councils and that you will have to pay us – I’m worried that the kerbside collection infrastructure will collapse.”
Quality
David Jupp, Cycle Link’s quality control manager explained how the company has been working over the past year with its suppliers on quality issues. “It has been possible to improve OCC but the real challenge is with the mixed.” The company is not importing mixed into China now but continues to import OCC (used cardboard) and other grades such as sorted office papers.
A perspective from the United States came from Jason Young who pictured a problem for MRFs. Mr Allan, who is chief executive of the recycling firm the Allan Company, said: “The Californian government is pushing for more recycling. Now it its a very dynamic situation, the technology is there, it is expensive to buy but doesn’t just solve the problem. You can buy robotic arms etc. But to get 0.5% you have to slow your line, add equipment, add bodies but you are still going to have a hard time in getting to 0.5%.”
Trevor Williams said that there was an additional challenge “in the make up of material we are collecting.” He asked: “Could local authorities only focus on some materials?”
And, Mr Williams noted that there had been a tremendous growth in the UK of commingled collections on the municipal side and for commercial and industrial recyclables. There have always been discussions about small plastics and e-waste etc, he observed, adding it is a question of who is going to pay.
Endorsing Mr William’s concerns, Olivier Thomas, chief executive officer of trading for SUEZ environnement, said that besides paper there were problems with plastics and especially with packaging film.
Papermaker JianWei Li highlighted the strength of fibre in American used cardboard
‘Proactive’
Lydia Burchnall of Cycle Link UK said that in the UK industry has been very proactive. “There has been more grading and more segregation; more focus on traditional grades including box board cutting and news and pams and more monitoring of incoming material.”
However, Mrs Burchnall explained that it would be hard to get changes on the council front. “It would be very difficult to get local authority residents to go back from commingling. Other costs savings ideas are possible, such as revising rounds. Personally I would like to see the dual-collections of fibres and containers.”
Biffa’s Trevor Williams responded saying there is a lot of debate in the UK as to whether systems should be rationalised. “I think anything that can reduce the number of different collection systems will help MRF operators and we need to look at how local authorities can really work with the householders.”
US strength
He also expressed concern that it had been said at the conference that US cardboard is going to be a more popular material for China rather than European material as import orders may be reduced because of China using more domestic material and finding other ways to reduce overall consumption of imported cardboard and paper.
Earlier LianWei Li of Dongguan Jinzhou Paper had described how Chinese mills were finding ways to improve performance, reducing the tonnage of recovered paper needed, and confirming that “US RCP has a higher strength”. He indicated though that using domestic arisings from China was not always easy as it could have a higher starch content and too much COD (chemical oxygen demand) although conforming to standards was not as strict.
Chinese authorities are keen to see more recycling of domestic material by the paper mills
With Terry van Iersel saying that his company was looking at producing two grades of mixed papers, with grade one being at a premium price, Mr Williams responded that Biffa was looking at “everything still and has not decided on any one single option. We are keeping everything on the table, including additional sorting and a secondary sort. All options are very much on the table.”
National Sword
A session on supplier experience was chaired by Simon Marsden, group commercial director of Recycling UK, who said that while improvements had been needed, he felt that the National Sword campaign was a ‘sledgehammer to catch a nut”.
Jason Young from the Allan Company in the US, reasoned that “if there was trash in the recycling skip, a charge should be levied”. And, he said householders in the US put “trash in their recycling as that is free” unlike waste which is charged for. “In the USA there are more dirty MRFs. Personally I don’t think they will be viable. We have dug our own grave on this one.”
Simon Scott, purchasing manager at Cycle Link UK, said that he felt the industry should have kept going with a focus on grades and low contamination which had existed in the past.
But, Simon Marsden was not so sure, responding: “Yes and no, the mills would accept it. India still takes poorer quality and I hope 0.5 will also help drag quality up. But we see very poor sorting in India, people and children in bare feet, sandals at best. I agree, the standards are definitely a wake up call.”
Recycling Association
The conference also heard from Simon Ellin, chief executive of the Recycling Association, who detailed the work of the association on quality as well as its call for producers and designers to make products more easily recyclable. And, he noted that the association had featured on television and in newspapers in the UK and overseas in its work to get the quality message out.
Gary Waters, global logistics director for Cycle Link, said he agreed it was important to tackle the packaging industry. “As an industry we need to get to the start of the problem. This conference is about quality but look at the packaging. How do we as an industry get to the start of the problem, who is lobbying the designers?”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Plastic
