Further Asian states react to the shifts in international material flows triggered by China's import restrictions for waste. Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) announced plans to restrict the import of waste plastics and recovered paper. However, the country does not envisage a total ban. Imports of specific material types and grades meeting quality requirements are to continue to be permitted, according to a statement released by the EPA last week. As the next step, the administration will hold a 60-day public consultation on the proposed measures. In the first six months of this year, Taiwan imported two and a half times more waste plastics that it had in the same period last year. While not greatly increased, imports of recovered paper exceeded 150,000 t in March, EPA Department of Waste Management director-general Lai Ying-ying said at a press conference last week, according to the English-language newspaper Taipei Times. At the same time, quality had decreased, and prices for domestic recycled waste had plunged, he added, according to the newspaper.
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