Recyclers of plastic bottles in the United States have seen prices fall as a result of increased Chinese import restrictions.
According to American trade magazine Recycling Today, the US is the world’s largest exporter of plastics to China representing 24 per cent of the market compared to 9 per cent for the UK. As a result of the Import Regulations for Solid Waste that were introduced by the Chinese government this year, the price of PET has fallen.
A MRF operator in the mid-west of the country said: “Export is getting very sloppy right now, especially in China. It seems like the PET market there has basically crashed. This has put many more tonnes back on the domestic market, and prices have come down by as much as 40 per cent since 1 November.”
However, this hasn’t had an impact on the HDPE market as most material is dealt with domestically.
