According to the assessment of the International Bureau of Revenue, which is headquartered in Brussels, after China has promulgated a ban on overseas scrap imports, its import of waste plastics may fall below half of its normal level next year.
In its October 19 statement, IRA conducted a special assessment of the implementation of the ban announced by China in July and its possible impact on the market next year.
'Chinese imports next year may be reduced to 30-40% of normal levels, and overseas suppliers must find an alternative location for about 67,000 tons of plastic waste,' said Recycling Bureau Plastic Products Committee Chairman and Antwerp Recycling Company, Belgium, executive Surendra Borad Patawari said.
'In 2016, a total of 10.2 million tons of plastic wastes were imported from mainland China and Hong Kong - but this number will plummet next year,' he said.
The group issued a statement after an industry conference in India in mid-October saying it has received a report from the China Waste Plastics Association that Chinese government officials have confirmed they will continue to issue import licenses by 2018.
However, the Bureau of International Recycling said the renewal of the license granted only to Chinese recycling companies that have "no violation records and are fully compliant with the environmental regulations."
The ban on permits has become a key regulatory component of the new China regulation, with industry officials closely monitoring their implementation.
The Bureau of International Recycling, representing 70 countries that recycle trade associations, including 800 companies, said the Chinese rules have a huge impact on pricing.
'The value of certain materials shipped in containers has dropped to zero, and in some cases even negative,' said the Bureau of International Recovery. "Conversely, the price of domestic plastic waste in China has risen 20-30% after a shortage. '
There is evidence that the China ban is boosting the domestic market, the International Recovery Agency said.
For example, the association said the Sharif Group, headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, released a report that "many exporters in the Arab region have found China's alternative market and local scrap prices have risen."
A spokesman from India reported that a China ban could potentially raise its domestic recovery rate to 22 percentage points higher than it currently is.
Indian companies also said the country needs to recycle more vigorously in 'formal' sectors, and the situation is now that informal, unregistered companies have recycled 80% of their polyethylene and polypropylene.
The International Bureau of Recycling estimates that India imports only about 150,000 metric tons of plastic per year, less than 2% of imports from mainland China and Hong Kong.
A general manager of a French recycling company said the ban in China has already allowed the recovery of some of the low-density polyethylene film collected in Europe from Asia to processing plants in Portugal and Spain.