The amount of waste plastics exported from EU member states to third countries in the first six months of 2012 has changed only minimally. According to figures from the European statistical office, Eurostat, the 27 member states exported just under 1.641 million tonnes of "waste, parings and scrap of plastics” valued at €530m to countries outside the European Union. That was only slightly higher than in the comparable period in 2011, when exports reached 1.629 million tonnes worth €458m.
As was the case last year, over 95 per cent of the exports were headed for Asia, above all to China and Hong Kong. The most recent statistics once again showed a shift in export volumes in favour of the People's Republic. Plastics exported directly from EU countries to China climbed by 16.4 per cent to 91,900 tonnes during the period under review. At the same time, shipments to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Zone dropped from 620,300 tonnes to 501,700 tonnes.