About a fifth of the US' annual $5bn Chinese waste disposal business is at risk, according to the World Trade Organisation (ISRI). Beijing told the US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries in July that it would stop imports of 24 varieties of waste, including types of plastic and paper often sent from the US, because of concerns about hazardous materials mixed in with the waste. The ban, due to start this month, has made US recyclers nervous, as there was little time for transition, said Adina Adler at the ISRI. Scrap and waste is the sixth biggest export to China.
About a fifth of the US' annual $5bn Chinese waste disposal business is at risk, according to the US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). Beijing told the World Trade Organisation in July that it would stop imports of 24 varieties of waste, including types of plastic and paper often sent from the US, because of concerns about hazardous materials mixed in with the waste. The ban, due to start this month, has made US recyclers nervous, as there was little time for transition, said Adina Adler at the ISRI. Scrap and waste is the sixth biggest export to China.