LONDON: Poor market conditions following China’s crackdown on waste imports is costing businesses thousands of pounds each week, with closures expected this year as some material prices plummet to zero.
Mixed papers, one of the materials included in China’s de facto ban, has struggled to find a new market and some traders have been unable to find buyers as a result.
Ray Georgeson, chief executive of the Resource Association, said that smaller companies did not have the capital resources to reconfigure instantly how they process material and therefore could not meet the new quality standards.
“I can see there are tough times for them. That is a consequence of what has been a dramatic policy shift.”
But Glover warned against stockpiling, saying those who did so risked going bust because mills were less keen on the material and it posed a fire risk.
Ellin added that he expects to see material coming back from China following rejection at ports. Insiders agreed that the Government’s lack of guidance over China had left the industry “distinctly underwhelmed”. Georgeson commented: “We are all uniformally dismayed.” He added that the Government had limited ambition and sense of urgency towards the crisis, with little response to letters written to ministers and evidence submitted to committees.
