OREANDA-NEWS. Russian recycling companies began to buy more plastic waste abroad. Last year, imports amounted to more than $ 20 million - 32% more than a year earlier, according to customs statistics, which studied the Russian media.

The growth in imports of used plastic is recorded against the background of “garbage reform” stalling, according to market players. A separate waste collection system in Russia is only being created, and 94% of the waste, according to Greenpeace, is still sent to a landfill and not sorted. To maintain existing capacities, processors are forced to purchase the missing raw materials abroad.

At the same time, sales of waste paper abroad are growing, despite the shortage of this recyclable material in the domestic market. Separate waste collection will help both the environment and the economy, experts say. Recycling of waste paper alone is capable, according to industry representatives, of contributing about $ 0.5 billion to the country's GDP.

From the point of view of the cost of recyclables and the demand for it, the plastics market is extremely attractive for processors, says Anna Volkova, senior analyst at the HSE Development Center Institute, in her article “Waste Management Market”. However, in Russia there is no well-functioning system for collecting polymer waste, which creates a shortage of recyclables and slows down the development of the industry, she said.

Waste paper is the main article of Russian exports of recycled materials (excluding scrap and waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals). Waste paper exports in 2018 amounted to almost $ 72 million (368 thousand tons). According to international trade statistics, Russia takes the 19th place in the world waste paper export. The leader - the United States - sold $ 3.3 billion of this recyclable material last year.