The Indonesian government’s regulator announced in June 2019 that new regulations around the import of waste paper would come into force, including the random checking of bales and the sealing of containers.
The move follows Indonesia’s efforts to crack down on the export of waste to the country as well as the export of recycling contaminated with waste after the country received and returned an estimated 250 contaminated containers in violation of import rules in 2019.
As a result of the measures, there was concern within the UK paper recycling sector that exports of sorted waste paper for recycling would be slowed or even halted as a result. With China reducing its imports of waste paper dramatically, Indonesia has become a more important market.
On 20 December 2019 representatives from the Indonesian visited a number of UK sites including DS Smith’s recycling depot at Uxbridge in West London with Indonesia one of the countries to which it exports.
The visit was arranged by the Baltic Control inspection agency which carries out inspections for the official Indonesia KSO group which regulates the import of material. KSO has the contract for the UK and Ireland as well as the Baltic countries and South America
Jochen Behr, head of recycling at DS Smith, who hosted the delegation said: “We were delighted to host the Indonesian trade delegation and showcase the processes we have in place to make sure that material leaving our UK depots meets the increasing quality standards of our overseas customers.
“It was positive for us to see a recycling facility”
“At DS Smith, we operate a circular business model that is based on the highest quality materials. Being transparent with our trade partners is crucial to this process, and I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to further our relationship with Indonesia.”
‘Positive’
Agnieszka Grala of Baltic Control Group, who facilitated the visit, commented: “It was positive for us to see a recycling facility to get an understanding how the process works from the supply side. The visit to DS Smith was very positive and will support DS Smith as well as UK recycling supply to Indonesia in the future.”
The group viewed a presentation on the 32-person Uxbridge operation which included information on recycling quality procedures and AI processes used. The delegation heard from the company’s recycling division UK exports director, Andrew Akroyd, who focused on the recognition of the importance of quality of material for reprocessing.
The Uxbridge depot processes between 70,000 to 80,000 tonnes of paper per annum.
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