New Trade Restrictions on Plastic Waste to Take Effect Jan. 1

U.S. exporters of plastic waste should be prepared for disruption Jan. 1, when new multilateral plastic trade restrictions take effect, according to a Dec. 21 post on the Sidley Austin website. Beginning in 2021, new restrictions agreed to by the Basel Convention will be put in place, expanding the type of plastic wastes subject to import and export requirements. The new measures will require traders to “receive consent” from the governments of the importing and exporting countries, including “countries of transit,” for more types of plastic waste, the law firm said. “These amendments will substantially change transboundary shipments of plastic waste and the waste and recycling industries overall,” the firm said, adding that the U.S. will not be able to ship “regulated plastic waste” to other Basel parties. The law firm said the amendment will have “serious effects” on the U.S., which shipped more than 1 billion pounds of plastic waste to nearly 100 countries in 2019.