Exports of scrap fibers to China collapsed in 2021, but the rest of the world more than made up the difference. Plastic waste, however, continued its decline in shipments for years.

The US Census Bureau recently released business data for the fourth quarter of 2021, allowing Resource Recycling to calculate the numbers for the year 2021 and compare them with previous years.

Data shows U.S. companies exported 17.97 million short tons of recovered fiber (including papers and paperboard) in 2021, compared to 15.95 million short tons of the last year, an increase of 13%. The upward move marked a reversal of two years of decline, which had been precipitated by China National Sword Campaign.

Plastics, however, continued the decline it has seen since National Sword began reducing Chinese imports of certain materials from 2018. The United States exported 1.21 billion pounds of plastic waste in 2021 , compared to 1.38 billion pounds the previous year, a decrease of around 12%.

Paper and cardboard shipments increase

The following chart shows total scrap fiber exports from the United States over the past five years (story continues below chart):

Last year brought huge swings in the weights shipped to the top 10 destinations for US scrap fiber. More material went to Thailand (up 203%), Malaysia (up 109%), India (up 89%), Mexico (up 66%), Vietnam (up 48%), Taiwan (up 26%), Indonesia (up 11%) and Canada (+7%). All other countries combined absorbed 45% more fiber waste.

They all largely offset the collapse in shipments to China, which took 89% less. Specifically, China imported 548,000 short tons of US scrap fiber in 2021, up from 4.97 million the previous year. Finally, shipments to South Korea decreased by 3%.

The following chart shows the top 10 recipients (plus all others combined) in 2021, compared to their number the previous year (the story continues below the chart):

Plastic exports continue to fall

The downward movement in plastic waste shipments last year continues a multi-year decline. In 2017, the year China’s National Sword campaign was first announced but had yet to go into effect, the United States exported 3.68 billion pounds.

The following table shows the total exports of plastic waste from the United States over the past five years (the story continues below the graph):

As was the case with fiber, 2021 has seen wild fluctuations in the weights shipped to different countries. Countries receiving significantly more plastic waste from the United States include India (up 110%), El Salvador (up 77%), Mexico (up 34%), Indonesia (up 27%) and Canada (up 2%).

Others significantly reduced the amount they brought in from the United States, including Hong Kong (down 72%), Taiwan (down 56%), Malaysia (down 32%), Vietnam (down 31%) and Turkey (down 24%). All other countries not in the combined top 10 of 2021 were down 35%.

The following chart shows the top 10 recipients (plus all others combined) in 2021, compared to their number the previous year (the story continues below the chart):

Canada remains, by far, the main destination for bales of plastic waste. The US neighbor to the north took the top spot from 2019, following a Malaysian national sword-inspired import crackdown.

From 2021, an amendment to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal entered into force. The amendment sought to further regulate the global trade in plastics, banning shipments of certain types of materials. However, the United States and Canada brokered an agreement that continued to allow countries to trade without the additional Basel controls.

Since the Basel Convention Amendment came into force, environmental justice campaigners have pressured shipping companies to stop accepting cargo made up of plastic waste. The latest company to announce the end of this practice is the CMA CGM Group, the third largest ocean freight company in the world.

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