The China Resources Recycling Group is being formed. What are the expectations for the secondary lead industry? [SMM survey]

On September 23, the NDRC held a special press conference to introduce the overall progress and effectiveness of large-scale equipment renewal and the trade-in policy for consumer goods. At the conference, Zhao Chenxin, Deputy Director of the NDRC, responded to a question about the arrangements made for recycling old appliances, consumer goods, and equipment, and the measures to be taken to promote recycling and reuse. He stated that the NDRC will work with relevant parties to enhance the recycling and reuse framework, accelerate the establishment of a waste recycling system covering all fields and stages, and continuously streamline the resource recycling chain to make it easier to discard old items and more convenient to replace them with new ones. Firstly, they will accelerate the development of the "trade-in + recycling" logistics system and new models, further improving the recycling network for obsolete products and equipment. Secondly, they will strengthen the extended producer responsibility system, supporting enterprises in building reverse logistics systems for recycling obsolete products, and promoting the efficient use of retired wind power, photovoltaics, and power batteries. Additionally, they will support the formation of the China Resources Recycling Group to establish a national, functional resource recycling platform. Thirdly, they will optimize the management of used car transaction registration, improve relevant resource import standards and policies, and build a larger international recycling system.

This special press conference has attracted significant attention from the recycling industry, especially as it is the first official disclosure of the progress in establishing the China Resources Recycling Group.

Zhao Chenxin, a member of the NDRC Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director, mentioned: "As of now, the comprehensive utilisation rate of major solid waste nationwide has reached 59%, and the utilisation of 10 major types of recycled resources, such as steel scrap and non-ferrous metal scrap, has been increasing significantly each year, with steel scrap utilisation reaching 260 million mt annually."

Secondary lead, produced from the smelting of waste lead-acid batteries, is one of the non-ferrous metal scraps, and its utilisation is generally on the rise.

Moreover, despite significant achievements in the recycling system and smelting technology over the years, the secondary lead industry still faces challenges in practice. For example, there are issues with the compliance of manifests and tax regulations in the battery scrap recycling process, including illegal cross-regional transportation without manifests and tax evasion. There are also concerns about the compliance of individual recyclers, such as whether they have hazardous waste operation permits and whether they strictly adhere to approved transaction scales.

SMM has learned that industry professionals in the secondary lead sector are eagerly anticipating the establishment of the China Resources Recycling Group. They hope it will provide guidance and direction for the recycling industry, leading to a more compliant and legal recycling network for waste lead-acid batteries and fostering a fairer market environment. Additionally, they expect it to ensure a stable supply of raw materials, reduce production costs for secondary lead smelting, and continuously strengthen the processing and utilisation of secondary lead, while improving the recycling system and mechanisms.