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WRAP’s (Waste & Resources Action Programme) third international
markets conference that took place in London last month, gave
the clearest steer possible that quality matters to the whole
recycling industry supply chain - and, alongside it, could
stem market opportunities for UK businesses.
Marcus Gover, Director of Market Development at WRAP said
- “We were delighted by the strength of the support shown
by the whole industry for quality. It reinforced the message
that the importance of quality for domestic and export recycling
cannot be underestimated.”
Although WRAP’s research on market sentiment amongst Chinese
paper and plastics reprocessors indicated that UK material
quality was good - but by no means the best - there seemed
to be a consensus that, in a globally competitive market,
there was no room for complacency.
During voting sessions used by WRAP throughout the day to
take ‘snapshots’ of opinion, three-quarters of voters
thought that there was a case for improving beyond current
quality levels.
Part of the imperative to do this was tighter enforcement
of import controls. Two-thirds of market practitioners
indicated that they had been impacted by tightening controls.
But, of these, 30% said that this has presented them with
market opportunities.
Another key finding was that three-quarters of participants
do not believe the UK is currently extracting the best possible
value from its recovered materials. With WRAP developing domestic
markets for recovered materials and clear demand for quality
products abroad, UK businesses could seize the imperative
to extract greater value, differentiate themselves from the
competition and gain greater business security in the longer
term.
Speakers throughout the day went on to reinforce the importance
of quality further.
Keith Freegard, Director at Axion discussed the importance
of product differentiation - “Axion produces an innovative,
high-quality plastic product in a responsible, traceable manner.
We stretch closed loop recycling all the way to China, where
demand for quality products is huge. When markets turn down,
quality wins - particularly when produced close to the end-use
customer.”
Nick Watson, Marketing Manager at ACN Europe asserted that
- “Quality remains an extremely high focus for China and the
China Certification and Inspection (Group) Co. Ltd (CCIC)
inspections across all grades of paper, but particularly from
MRF tonnages.”
To view all reports and presentations from the conference
- Click
Here
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