The coronavirus has disrupted end markets for KW Plastics, moving demand away from industrial applications and toward packaging for essential products. Troy, Ala.-based KW Plastics, which describes itself as the world’s largest plastics recycling company, has 350 employees directly tied to plastics recycling. KW has not laid off any of those workers during the coronavirus pandemic, said Stephanie Baker, director...

Thai government leaders have taken steps to permanently ban the import of hundreds of types of end-of-life electronics. Two months after Thailand enacted an immediate prohibition on scrap electronics and plastics imports, the country's government has released its longer-term plans. Thailand has experienced a massive increase in scrap material imports this year, particularly on the plastics side, after many exporters...

The Chinese government has announced key policies in recent weeks, including a plan to ban all recovered material imports by 2020. The following is a roundup of the latest details from the Chinese government and other key stakeholders on China’s fast-evolving scrap import restrictions. Total ban on the way: The Chinese government released a lengthy policy document identifying steps the...

The Chinese government has announced key policies in recent weeks, including a plan to ban all recovered material imports by 2020. In the U.S., Waste Management offered details on the impact of National Sword thus far. The following is a roundup of the latest details from the Chinese government and other key stakeholders on China’s fast-evolving scrap import restrictions. Total...

The government of Thailand has banned all e-scrap from entering its ports, amid a major increase in shipments to the country. According to a June 24 news release, Thailand’s Department of Industrial Works “has issued a prohibition on further imports of electronic and plastic waste effective immediately, and will be proposing to the Ministry of Industry to issue an indefinite...

Two electronics recycling companies recently ended disputes with California regulators that centered on the handling of metal-laden dust from e-scrap shredders. The situation raises debate about what material should be labeled hazardous. The two firms have denied any wrongdoing but will nonetheless be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to the state.Sims Recycling Solutions and California Electronic Asset Recovery (CEAR)...

China’s import policy changes are straining recovered plastics export markets, particularly impacting mixed rigids. Recycling companies have been forced to stockpile and even landfill the materials, while numerous municipal programs have stopped accepting mixed plastics. Chinese import permits have not been renewed since May, slowing and, in some cases, halting shipments of certain recovered materials to the country. Although the...

California regulators are signaling they may want a mandatory program covering end-of-life management for packaging, and a workshop next week will explore what the details could look like. Scott Smithline, director of the California Department of Resources Recovery and Recycling (CalRecycle), last fall directed his staff to develop a "mandatory packaging policy model." Department staff identified extended producer responsibility (EPR),...