Panic as China imposes ban on waste imports

SOMETHING close to panic gripped European and North American authorities when China recently imposed a ban on a range of plastic scrap and unsorted paper waste imports. Now, there is a frantic scramble to work out what do with the piles of unwanted commodities that are now starting accumulate with nowhere to go.

Although the Chinese government did announce the impending ban last July, nobody seemed to pay much attention. Certainly the implementation this month has taken many by complete surprise, with an apparent lack of any coherent plan on how to respond.

However, this column is not so concerned about the recycling issues for the countries producing all this waste but what it means for the shipping industry. It is very difficult to f…