New BASEL Regulations to Impact Plastic Scrap Trade

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) experts explored the potential outcomes due to change in Basel rules regarding scrap plastic shipments. The possibilities were discussed during the discussion hosted recently by the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Web Academy.

As per the new Basel regulations, which are due to take effect from 1st January, 2021, exports of most categories of scrap plastic requires prior notice and consent requirements. It introduces new measures aimed at regulating shipments of certain types of hazardous waste between nations.

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The agreement covers nearly 190 countries. However, the rules will not be applicable to the U.S. which has not yet ratified the agreement. Consequently, the new regulations may impact trade of scrap plastic between the U.S. and most other world countries, thereby constraining exports from that country. The rules for shipping scrap plastic could vary depending on the destination country. Incidentally, developed countries are reportedly implementing separate processes to determine how the regulation will be applied between them.

The shipments of mixed plastics of resins Nos 1-7 or 3-7 will be subject to the new Basel criteria. In fact, there are only a very few types of scrap plastic shipments that are not subject to the new criteria.