U.K. Plastic Scrap Exports Suspected to End up as Marine Litter

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Until recently, the UK has been exporting bulk of its plastic waste to China. However, after the imposition of restrictions on imported foreign garbage by the Chinese administration, the UK recycling industry has been hit hard by rising costs and rock-bottom recyclate prices. Nowadays, the UK’s plastic waste is being exported to alternative markets. Most of these destination markets are countries that are responsible for maximum plastic entering the ocean from waste generated on land.

As per records, Malaysia has become the primary destination of plastic scrap exports from the UK, following Chinese ban. The UK plastic scrap exports to Malaysia have almost trebled during the past four months. The exports to Vietnam have surged higher by nearly 50%, whereas those to Thailand have skyrocketed fifty-fold. According to studies, these three countries feature in the world’s top ten ocean polluters, in terms of plastic waste entering from land. Approximately 4.8 to 12.7 million MT of plastic waste entered the ocean in 2010.  By exporting plastic scrap to these countries, the UK is indirectly contributing to marine pollution, sources said.

ALSO READ: New Report Boasts Remarkable Progress in Efforts to Curb Marine Litter

Meantime, many of these alternative markets have started implementing steps to curtail increased volume of imports. Following backlog of imported plastic scrap at ports, countries including Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have imposed temporary ban on imports. Also, Poland has imposed fresh restrictions on import of foreign waste, following a series of fire incidents at dumps.

After Chinese announcement, the quantity of waste exported by the UK to other countries has dropped by 17%. However, there is a growing need for the UK to handle more of its waste domestically. For this, the government is urged to spend more on waste management infrastructure improvements.