China, which is continuing to accept imports of old corrugated containers (OCC) from the U.S. and other countries, has issued permits allowing the import of 11.5 million short tons of fiber for this year. However, at this time last year, China had approved permits for 17.7 million short tons of fiber, Resource Recycling reports.

The report also points out that actual recovered fiber imports are lower than the approved tonnage and that the U.S. shipped 4.2 million short tons of recovered fiber to China between January and August.

When it comes to plastic, China still hasn’t imported scrap plastic and hasn’t issued scrap plastic import permits. In addition, Resource Recycling notes that besides volume reduction, China’s permit approval system has changed and an all-out ban and other regulatory changes continue to loom.

Resource Recycling has more details:

China continues to import a substantial amount of OCC from the U.S. and elsewhere. But an all-out ban and other regulatory changes loom on the horizon.

The Chinese government has issued permits allowing the import of 11.5 million short tons of recovered fiber this year. By this point last year, China had approved permits for 17.7 million short tons. It’s a reminder that certain grades of recyclables, including OCC, continue to be allowed into the country.

Actual recovered fiber imports are slightly lower than the approved tonnage. By the end of August, they totaled 8 million short tons. That’s down from 10.9 million that had been imported during that period in 2018.

Read the full article here.