Green Fence sees quality rise in China paper imports

Chinese customs officials have praised the effect of the countrys Operation Green Fence, in reducing the amount of contamination found in shipments of waste paper to the country.

Pictures have also been published showing bales of heavily contaminated plastic bottle waste, which were intercepted by officials as a result of investigations carried out under the Green Fence initiative.

The General Administration of Customs of the Peoples Republic of China said today (January 16) that less foreign waste in the form of plastic films and aluminium cans was being found in shipments of waste paper, destined for processing in Chinese mills.

The initiative was launched by the Chinese Government early in 2013 at the request of the newly elected President Xi Jinping, aimed at reducing the amount of poor quality waste entering Chinese ports from overseas.

Customs officials claim that contamination has been reduced by as much as 0.02 to 0.04 units per tonne of waste paper shipped into the country over the course of the operation.

Contamination

And, according to the Fuyang Paper Association, which represents paper processing firms in the province of Anhui in the east of the country, firms had benefited by up to RMB 70 million (Chinese Yuan) – equivalent to around 7.08 million – from a reduction in contamination and moisture content in the waste paper imported into the country during the first 10 months of 2013.

Commenting on the effects of the initiative, a customs officer from the Hangzhou Customs District named Wang, is quoted as saying: There are less plastic films and pop cans hidden in the waste paper now, and the moisture content is lower.

The foreign suppliers realise now we will say no to those waste paper cubes whose classification is confusing, and we will no longer accept those which contain foreign substances.

Import

Of the 6.54 million tonnes of solid waste imported into the Hangzhou district to the end of November, some 3,508 tonnes of material had been rejected as overly contaminated by officials.

The comments from Chinese customs today come as fears were expressed that officials might further crack down on containers coming into the country, after unconfirmed reports of two bodies found in shipments, thought to have originated in the USA.

This follows the release of details last month of a shipment of around 2,000 tonnes of illegally imported plastic bottles, which had been seized after investigations by customs officers in the Haungpu District. The incident was noted as the administrations biggest waste trafficking case since the start of the Green Fence.

Customs officers investigated a company located in Dongguan City suspected of involvement in smuggling activities, with officers finding that the company was not licenced to process PET bottles.