Nearly 90% of China's reclaimed rubber enterprises will be eliminated

“In the next few years, the waste rubber comprehensive utilization industry will experience a more thorough reshuffle, and 80%-90% of existing companies will be eliminated.” Recently, at the first China (Qingdao) Rubber Industry Expo, China Rubber Industry Association Secretary-General Cao Qingxin of the Waste Rubber Comprehensive Utilization Branch stated.

Environmental protection into the soft underbelly of the industry

According to statistics from the China Rubber Industry Association, during the five-year period from 2008 to 2013, the annual production of used automobile tires in China jumped from 7.4 million tons to 10.8 million tons. The output of China's waste rubber utilization of major products also increased from 2.7 million tons in 2008 to 4.3 million tons in 2013.

China is already the world’s largest consumer of rubber, and China’s comprehensive utilization of waste rubber has also become the main force in the circular economy of the world’s rubber industry. However, in China, the impression given by this industry has always been scattered and backward.

In Cao Qingxin's opinion, in addition to the low resource recovery rate, environmental protection has become a real weakness in the comprehensive utilization of waste rubber. “In our traditional concept, resources have always been ranked first, but with the accelerated process of industrialization, the use of waste rubber and raw materials has soared, and environmental protection issues have become more and more serious. Now, the first priority should be Environmental protection."

In a test for the content of toxic substances in reclaimed rubber products, domestic recycled rubber produced with coal tar as a softener has a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content (18 items) as high as 8,000 mg/kg or more, far exceeding the relevant regulations in developed countries such as Europe and the United States. More than 200 mg/kg required. These harmful substances that can cause cancer can be scattered into the air and inhale into the body with the haze.

Although the call for the elimination of coal tar and changes in the way of dismantling has continued, but so far, the state has not paid sufficient attention to this issue, the policy guidance is still insufficient, and the production companies are driven by the interests, environmental protection issues appear in the waste rubber recycling industry. Very serious.

It is understood that the "Provisional Measures for the Administration of Admission Notification for the Utilization of Waste Tire Comprehensive Utilization Industry" has been officially implemented since May 1, 2013, and it has been a year and a half. The effect is not satisfactory. Cao Qingxin expressed his concern.

"A large number of waste rubber use the army, only more than 20 are more standard enterprises." Cao Qingxin sighed for a while. He appealed that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology should increase the enforcement of the access system and try to eliminate all the companies that have been eliminated. The status quo is that, until now, most large companies still do not respond to the admission system, and small businesses do not need to mention it. Those non-regular companies that have no business licenses are even less basic.

Future shuffle

It is understood that at present, the number of domestic reclaimed rubber companies is more than 1,000, and only 100 companies have an annual output of more than 10,000 tons. CCTV reported in June 2013 that over 350 reclaimed rubber manufacturing enterprises in Yutian County, Tangshan City, Hebei Province, 297 of which had no business license. In addition to Yutian County, these former workshops and small workshops behind the factory are also common in Hebei, Hebei, Fengyang, Shanxi and other places.

According to reports, most of these small businesses are left over from history. In the process of reforming the state-owned system, after the dissolution of the original company, these people would only be reclaimed rubber. In order to support their families, they would do it in their own homes without a business license or pay taxes. But now, with basic standards, there is no problem with survival. Cao Qingxin said: "It is time to eliminate these companies."

Talking about the sustainable development of the industry, Cao Qingxin stated that the access system is a threshold, and there are many requirements for site, production capacity, and environmental protection. Although the implementation process is not smooth, the industry has standardized after all. In the future, after two steps, 80%-90% of the waste rubber comprehensive utilization industry will be eliminated.

According to the relevant plan, after the closure of waste rubber recycling small businesses without business licenses, the industry can reduce about 60% of illegal small businesses.

It is reported that the Ministry of Finance will issue related preferential tax policies for the waste rubber recycling industry in the near future and is currently in the process of formulating a taxation policy. Cao Qingxin said that the opinion provided by the China Rubber Association to the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission is that the scale of the company must be 10,000 tons or more, and it must have the relevant environmental protection standard quality certification, which will cut down 20%-30% of small businesses.

"As a result, industry phenomena such as serious pollution, overcapacity, disorderly development, and blind expansion will be effectively curbed." Cao Qingxin said.