Indonesia's Fiber Import Rules Become More Clear
By Colin Staub, Resource Recycling August 21, 2019 (Resource Recycling) - After months of uncertainty about recovered paper restrictions in Indonesia, the nation's government has opted to evaluate bale contamination using two separate categories, according to multiple industry groups. The Southeast Asian country, a major importer of U.S. OCC and mixed paper, will adopt a 0.5% limit on more severe types of contamination, called prohibitives. Correspondence from an inspection agency to recovered fiber exporters, reviewed by Resource Recycling, states that the 0.5% prohibitives limit has been adopted immediately. Less severe types of contaminants called outthrows — different grades of the same commodity ending up in a single bale, for example, or easily removable contaminants — will be evaluated on a material-by-material basis using commonly referenced industry commodity specifications. Under the regulations, OCC exports to India would have a 5% limit on outthrows. Indonesia's government has been developing more rigorous import restrictions for recovered fiber for the past several months. After initially announcing a 0.5% standard for any type of contamination, the country's government decided to delay the policy and reconsider the contamination limit. Recycling industry stakeholders, particularly the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), corresponded with Indonesian government officials during the policy development process. An ISRI delegation also visited the country and spoke with key figures. The Indonesian government has now seemingly reached consensus. Indonesia will restrict prohibitives to 0.5% of a load, and outthrows will follow ISRI standards, according to ISRI. These specifications vary by material: Mixed paper is allowed up to 3% outthrows, whereas OCC has a 5% outthrow limit. The complete article is available on Resource Recycling's website: SOURCE: Resource Recycling |