‘As people are more aware of the impact of plastics, there are more measures taking place at a national level’, said Simon Ellin, CEO of the UK’s Recycling Association at a recent meeting with Max Cao. It was a warm afternoon filled with talk, laughter and planning. The discussions centred on the consideration of our precious planet and constructive ideas to rescue it, particularly in the context of plastics and waste industry trends and the macro level effects on market conditions resulting from waste industry policies.

Also discussed was the huge growth of the UK’s exports of plastic waste to south-east Asia following China’s crackdown on plastic waste imports, particularly exports to Malaysia which have made it one of the foremost destinations for British plastic waste. Recently, Malaysia has looked to reduce its imports of plastic waste and has further restricted the issue of approved trading permits. There are approximately 190 registered plastic businesses in Malaysia (2017 figures), but disappointingly around half of them are inactive, and several have now been closed following the plastic import restrictions. Other Asian countries experiencing similar import restrictions include Vietnam, Thailand, and South Korea.

Many other Asian and European markets have taken the opportunity to grow and develop in countries such as Poland, Turkey, India and Pakistan. But with this growth comes some risks, and of considerable concern is the different degree of plastics quality requirements in these emerging markets, but it is hoped that as they establish their markets, they will fall in line with the quality requirements of more mature markets.

It is their government that has bought in these new policies in China and which has frustrated plastics recyclers whom would still like to protect and grow their businesses. Amidst all the measures being projected are efforts to beef up plastic waste processing capacity in different European and Asian regions, along with initiatives to mark and track plastic waste dealers to prevent illegal and environmentally damaging dumping. At the meeting, one of the proposed alternatives discussed was a possible strategic re-think by the China Materials Recycling Association in order to understand strategic areas in the plastic waste industry which could open markets to specific or quality-based plastic waste imported to China.

On a micro level, a way of overcoming the gaps in the demand and supply, could be to re-define the plastic waste standards themselves, and a connection could be nurtured between The Recycling Association in the UK & the China Materials Recycling Association to reflect the principle of environmental sustainability, policies and plans with the objective of achieving these standards in order to positively impact on the society as whole. This would possibly be based on originating a plastic waste industry forum, with macro-level talks and a conversation symposium, and conferences could be held to discuss the strategies required.

On an individual level, 99Plas is working on incorporating Blockchain technology into the business cycle of plastic waste recycling with the benefits of being traceable and inerasable. This technology could be quite useful for tracking the source of plastic waste materials and where they are ultimately being processed. 99Plas is one of the leading services in the plastics trading and logistics market, to compliment plastic waste inspection and risk controls. If these facilities are pulled together under the blockchain technology system then the whole circular economy will be more transparent. Currently, in an unstable market, this could be a timely opportunity to place and track the products we handle.