position:environment secretary

Container lines will feel the pinch as China restricts import of #waste for recycling - The Loadstar
▻https://theloadstar.co.uk/container-lines-will-feel-pinch-china-restricts-import-waste-recyclin

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Container shipping lines could lose around 5m teu of cargo a year following the recent import ban on a wide variety of waste materials for recycling, according to new research from Drewry Maritime Advisors.

China brought in new rules on 1 January, applying from 1 March, which will see a complete ban on the import of unsorted waste paper, Vanadium slag and waste textiles, as well as wide-ranging restrictions on other recyclable materials such as a steel, plastics, wood, paper and cardboard.

In 2016, China imported around 30m tonnes of waste paper and 8m tonnes of waste plastics, and the ban has already led to growing mountains of waste products in the US, Japan and Europe as dealers struggle to find alternative recycling facilities.

One in-depth report claims the ban could create crises around the world equivalent to a major natural disaster.

The problem for ocean carriers is that waste products constitute a large percentage of #backhaul volumes from Europe and North America to China – the US exported two-thirds of its waste paper to China in 2016, some 13.2m tonnes, and about half of westbound transpacific violumes are waste products for recycling.

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Insecticide firms in secret bid to stop ban that could save bees | Environment | The Observer
▻http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/28/europe-insecticides-ban-save-bees

On en est là : un ministre de l’environnement qui s’offusque qu’on puisse chercher à protéger l’environnement, et un pollueur qui menace de poursuites judiciaires ceux qui veulent l’empêcher de polluer,

the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, told the chemicals company Syngenta last week that he was “extremely disappointed” by the European commission’s proposed ban. He said that “the UK has been very active” in opposing it and “our efforts will continue and intensify in the coming days”.

The chemical companies, which make billions from the products, have also lobbied hard, with Syngenta even threatening to sue individual European Union officials involved in publishing a report that found the pesticides posed an unacceptable risk to bees, according to documents seen by the Observer.