EPA is hosting a webinar explaining the new international requirements that will soon apply to exports and imports of most plastic scrap. These requirements will significantly impact the market for U.S. plastic recyclables. Starting January 1, 2021, international shipments of most plastic scrap will be restricted under a treaty called the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Exports of plastic scrap will only be allowed with the prior written consent of the importing country and any transit countries. The new Basel provisions will significantly limit the market for U.S. plastic recyclables because countries that have ratified the Convention (i.e., Parties) are prohibited from trading Basel-covered wastes with non-Parties like the United States absent a separate bilateral or multilateral agreement that meets certain Basel criteria.

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