Plastic Scrap Import Prohibited, Industry Protests!

With its latest regulation, the Ministry of Commerce decided to stop the import of ethylene polymer waste after 45 days. Protesting the decision, industry representatives warned that the plastics industry would be adversely affected by this situation.

The Ministry of Commerce has amended the "Import Control Communiqué of Wastes under Control for Environmental Protection". With the amendment published in the Official Gazette dated 31 December 2020, plastic scrap waste imports are included in the table of prohibited wastes. Thus, the import of plastic scrap made of ethylene polymer with Customs Tariff Statistics Position (GTİP) 3915.10.00.00.00 has been prohibited.

Plastic Scrap Import Prohibition will Force the Industry to a Dead End!

Ulucan Plastik Board Member Turan Uluışık, reacting to the change made without the knowledge of the industry, said that this decision taken without an impact analysis would force the plastics industry to a dead end. Underlining the importance of plastic scrap imports for recycling, Uluışık pointed out that instead of using resources from scratch in production, the use of recyclable plastic scrap is important both for the protection of resources and for the environment.

Import of Plastic Scrap is Important for Conservation of Resources!

Underlining that plastic scrap imports have a high financial return besides protecting the environment and resources, Uluışık said, “According to the Turkish Plastics Industry Association's 2019 data, Turkey had a current account surplus of 654 million dollars thanks to production stemming from plastic scrap imports. When domestic scrap is included in this figure, it becomes clear that approximately 1 billion dollars of plastic raw material import is prevented.”

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