China new Environmental Improvement Programme: How you can help the UK meet recycling target of 50% by 2020

To help the UK meet its recycling target of 50% by 2020, we are asking our customers to do their bit.
Veolia UK | How you can help the UK meet recycling target of 50% by 2020

How our customer's can help
meet the UKs 2020 recycling target

To help the UK meet its recycling target of 50% by 2020, we are asking our customers to do their bit by improving the quality of their recycling materials and reduce the amount of contamination that may exist in their Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR) containers.

Currently, the  UK recycling rates have stalled at 44% and with a potential target of 65% by 2035 in the proposed 25 year plan, we still have a long way to go.  The situation in the UK is compounded by the fact that China has launched a new Environmental Improvement Programme designed to increase the quality of the materials they import.

On 5 March 2018, new regulations to improve the quality of recycling materials were introduced by China and 24 categories of solid waste including unsorted waste paper will be banned. These measures will be rigorously enforced with port-based quality inspections being carried out on a regular basis through Project Blue Sky.  Since then a further announcement indicated a ban on 32 types of additional solid waste by the end of 2019.

These latest bans will assist China in their plans to reduce trade from its traditional routes via Europe and North America.

What this means is that quality will be the determining factor affecting both access to global recycling markets and price. The market for quality cardboard that is segregated remains strong, therefore if the majority of your DMR container is cardboard, we would encourage you to switch from a DMR service to a Cardboard only service.

Where a DMR service is still required, we need to improve the quality and stop contamination.  To achieve this we have changed our specification to the following:

Cardboard, paper, plastic bottles and tin cans which should all be clean. Food packaging/sandwich wrappers are not acceptable as DMR.

The main reason for these changes is to stop contamination, improve the quality of the materials and to help the UK achieve its recycling targets. 

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