Government Interventions Putting Businesses, Jobs and Recycling Rates at Risk
Regulations and policy interventions that stifle the free trade of recycled materials are hampering achievement of sustainability goals and undermining the transition to a circular economy, the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) insists in its latest position paper approved during the meeting of the organisation’s World Council of Recycling Associations on 30 October in Singapore. Entitled “Free Trade of Recycled Materials”, the position paper stresses that, to prevent such unwanted outcomes, the recycling industry must be properly represented wherever policy decisions that affect trade in recycled materials are being made.
Recycled materials have long played a critical role in global manufacturing supply chains and will remain key to addressing climate challenges as sustainable alternatives to extracted natural resources. But to be competitive, the global recycling industry depends on stable market access. Therefore, the position paper maintains, policies should ensure the free and fair flow of these materials.
Although this trade enables the efficient distribution of recycled materials to regions where they are most needed, governments worldwide have intensified policy interventions that hinder flows across borders, according to BIR. Unjustified tax obligations, export quotas/bans and additional administrative burdens create an uneven playing field for recyclers and ultimately hinder the uptake of secondary raw materials, for the benefit of primary resource producers and manufacturers, it is argued.
At the same time, certain policies work against their stated objectives by stranding materials where there is insufficient or inefficient recycling capacity, thus stemming the supply of recycled materials to economies with higher capacity/demand and thereby decreasing overall recycling rates.
Interfering with the efficient functioning of the international recycling market will result in lower levels of investment and recycling, the position paper warns. An unpredictable regulatory environment hinders long-term investment decisions and puts a multitude of recycling businesses and related jobs at risk, it adds.
While BIR acknowledges that policy interventions rarely seek intentionally to disrupt recycling, it argues that regulations with environmental, security and economic aims often overlook the unintended effects on recyclers and so prove damaging to the achievement of circularity goals. At the same time, these interventions can punish legitimate businesses that contribute to economic growth and environmental progress.
To avoid the introduction of measures that undermine global environmental efforts, the position paper insists that the recycling industry must be represented when national or international bodies discuss any regulatory or policy matters that have the potential to impact recyclers’ operations.
BIR’s latest position paper places heavy emphasis on the critical importance of the international trade in recycled materials, both to the global manufacturing supply chain and to the shift towards a more circular economy. The global trade in recycled materials has been estimated at over US$ 130 billion in 2019, it points out.
According to BIR’s own estimates, the global recycling industry processes over 600 million tonnes of recycled materials annually.
Source: BIR (Brussels, November 1, 2024)
