After China's "restriction on the collection of foreign waste" policy was released, it affected the global import and export of industrial waste such as waste paper and waste plastics. A large amount of industrial waste was transferred to Southeast Asian countries, including Taiwan. my country’s imports of plastic waste in the first half of this year were 2.5 times higher than in the same period the previous year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as a result, 400,000 to 500,000 tons of waste paper and waste plastic may be imported this year. Therefore, the Environmental Protection Agency announced on the 13th that it will amend the waste disposal regulations to control imported industrial waste by adjusting the quality of waste plastics and waste paper and the qualifications of importers. In the future, waste plastic must be of a single material and type; waste paper must only be kraft paper, cardboard, and corrugated paper, and no mixed materials are allowed. In addition to limiting the quality of imported waste, only legal factories, not traders, will be able to import in the future. The new system will be on the road as soon as October. "Things that conflict with domestic recycling should be banned first. We want high-quality processing, not low-quality but leaving pollution in Taiwan." Zhang Zijing, deputy director of the Environmental Protection Agency, emphasized the purpose of this revision of the law, specifically naming waste that has not been sorted out. Plastic cannot be imported into Taiwan. Requires a single material and type. In the future, only factories will have the right to import waste pipes. Lai Yingying, director of the waste management department, explained that according to current regulations, there are two ways to import industrial waste. One is to apply for a license, and the other is "industrial waste that is in need of industrial materials." There are 15 types of things listed in the list and no application is required. The Environmental Protection Department actually investigated the treatment plants and found that plastic waste mainly comes from Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Mexico, Germany and other countries. However, some of it has obviously not been sorted. This will increase the cost of treatment and will also leave more waste. A lot of waste that cannot be reused. What the Environmental Protection Agency has revised this time is the import conditions for waste paper and waste plastics in the "Announcement Item 1 of Industrial Wastes Demanded for Industrial Materials". The new system will require that the source of waste plastics must be scraps or defective products produced in the plastic manufacturing process, and do not contain medical waste; in the quality control part, it is limited to plastics of a single material or type. Waste paper is limited to recycled unbleached kraft paper, cardboard and corrugated paper or cardboard, and must not be mixed with non-paper materials. In addition, both importers must be imported and used by factories that have registered factories according to law or are exempt from registration. In the past, when it came to the import of waste plastics, about half were imported directly by factories and imported by traders, while the vast majority of paper was imported by paper mills themselves. Lai Yingying explained that only factories that can import can control the flow. The new system will be on the road as soon as October, and customs will strengthen border inspections in the future. Foreign garbage hits Taiwan, plastic and paper recycling prices plummet The price has plummeted, and when foreign waste enters Taiwan again, it has dropped from 3 yuan per kilogram last year to 0.5 to 1 yuan now. This may lead to a situation where foreign waste comes to Taiwan for treatment and remains polluted in Taiwan, leaving domestic waste with nowhere to go. Zhang Zijing said that to solve such problems, in addition to restricting the quality of imported industrial waste, it will also help improve the domestic recycling system. Zhang Zijing said frankly that at present, domestic recycling is so "stuck" that cleaning teams in many towns, towns and cities in the country are unable to handle it. If there is no way to properly classify it, it will not be favored by the industry, the price will be bad, and it will not even be sold. The Environmental Protection Agency will use its inspection team to provide guidance to areas with poor performance, and may provide sorting machines or assist in outsourcing the processing of large amounts of waste. Data source: Environmental Information Center (2018/08/13)
