China’s restrictions on imports of mixed paper and certain types of plastic over the past year have directly impacted 20% of councils, increasing recycling costs by an average £500,000.
Fees charged to councils to process materials collected from kerbside collections at a materials recovery facility are said to have increased from £15 to £22 per tonne over the past year.
Council leaders are calling for manufacturers to contribute more towards local authority costs for processing recycling and to reduce the amount of material, such as black plastic trays, entering the environment in the first place.
The Local Government Association is urging the Government to address the longer term impact of the China ban in its forthcoming Resources and Waste Strategy.
From an article in CIWM Journal, November 2018.
