MALAYSIA has set new criteria for scrap plastic imports with a plan to reduce them over time, the Resource Recycling website reported.

It quoted China Scrap Plastics Association executive director Steve Wong, who said the new rules were fixed by several ministries on October 26.

New import permits will then be issued by the government to those who meet the criteria.

Among the new rules are that only imports from the United States, European Union, and Japan will be accepted; they must be of quality, be homogenous scrap plastic fit for recycling, and must be “regrinds”, which involves a different tariff code.

Imports will also be subjected to a RM15 levy per metric tonne, and importers must place a deposit with a bank as a “bond” in the event of violations and repatriation of shipments.

However, the new requirements do not touch on a threshold for contamination in the plastic waste, as China had done, Wong told Resource Recycling.

It is also unclear when import permits will be issued again under the new criteria.

“They did not really have a time frame for when they will start accepting applications of approved permits,” he was quoted as saying.

Malaysia has become to the top importer of US scrap plastic this year, after China banned imports of most recyclables at the beginning of the year.

But Malaysia recently froze imports and shut down dozens of illegal plastic waste processing factories in Selangor, after complaints of environmental pollution

On the plan to reduce scrap plastic imports, Wong said there would be a gradual reduction so that domestic waste material eventually replaces feedstock for recycled plastics.

Over three years, the ratio of imports to domestic material will be 70-30, then 60-40, and 50-50 until a complete ban on scrap plastic imports is reached.

But Wong said he was unsure if domestic material would be enough to supply Malaysia’s manufacturing industry, as Malaysia lacks an efficient system to collect and sort plastic waste. – November 7, 2018.