Pratt Industries: Chinese ban could clean up waste and recycling streams in the US

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): While many companies have expressed concerns over the Chinese attempt to prohibit imports of more categories of solid waste by end-2017, the Conyers, Georgia-based Pratt Industries has stated that the ban in turn would help to clean up the waste and recycling streams in the US.

According to Myles Cohan, president of the recycling division at Pratt Industries, the planned prohibition of imports by China is a great chance for the US waste and recycling industry to clean up its stream. Those market players who are not willing to take this opportunity to improve themselves are likely to face difficulties once the ban is in place. Incidentally, the scrap exports by the US had totaled over $5.6 billion during entire 2016.

The Chinese ban may force several market players to make strategic decisions to upgrade their systems and technologies including installation of state-of-the-art sorting equipment. Pratt Industries has implemented various upgrades and enhancements to its facilities over the recent past. Earlier in May this year, the company had announced its decision to make investments of over US$ 2 billion in US facilities. The recent domestic capacity expansions would offset the impacts of the ban to a great extent, Cohan added.

The statement by the top recycling executive comes at a time when several waste and scrap industry associations within the country have projected serious implications of the ban on the US recycling industry. The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) had noted that the ban would have an adverse impact on recycling programs in the US and Canada. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) too had warned its members to remain vigilant so as to ensure that the scrap shipments to the country conform to set standards. ISRI President Robert Wiener had even warned that Chinese action would be catastrophic to the recycling industries worldwide.

In the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) filing, China proposes to ban imports of several scrap materials including plastic waste from living sources; vanadium slag; waste textile materials; slag; dross; scaling and other waste; ash and residues; waste, parings and scrap of plastics; cotton and wool waste; rag waste, rope and cables and other waste including unsorted waste and scrap. The fresh set of bans are considered as extension of the efforts undertaken by the Chinese administration as part of ‘National Sword’ campaign to streamline imports of scrap material into the country.