Sourcing plastic scrap from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 27 September 2026, heading 3915 covers waste, parings and scrap of plastics. All 7 lines carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure: polyethylene of specific gravity below 0.94 (such as LDPE) and 0.94 or more (such as HDPE), styrene polymers, PVC, polypropylene, PET and other plastics.

Recycled pellets and granules that are no longer waste are classified as primary plastics in chapter 39 (see our polyethylene granules guide), so confirm the commodity code from the form.

Waste shipment and recycled food-contact rules

Scrap is waste in law, so imports into Great Britain are controlled by the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 and retained Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006. Clean, sorted plastic scrap for recycling is treated more lightly than mixed or contaminated plastic waste, which needs prior notification and consent, so confirm the classification and procedure with the receiving facility and the regulator before shipping.

Recycled plastic used for food-contact materials must come from an authorised recycling process under retained Regulation (EC) No 282/2008, so scrap bought for food-grade recycling needs traceable input and the recycler's process approval.

Specifying plastic scrap

Specify polymer and grade, form (regrind, flake, film, offcuts or lumps), colour, contamination limits (other polymers, labels, metal, paper, moisture), melt flow range, bale or bag size, and the sampling method.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 20 tonnes of clean baled PET bottle flake scrap, commodity code 3915 90 20 00, bought for £9,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance, so the customs value is £11,000. Customs duty is 0%, and import VAT at 20% of £11,000 is £2,200, which a VAT-registered recycler can usually reclaim. The larger costs are waste paperwork, inspection and rejected loads, so budget for them. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

Inspection checklist

Sorting: open sampled bales and check polymer type (for example by infrared identification), colour and contamination against the limits.

Testing: test moisture and melt flow on samples, and check for odours or residues that signal contamination.

Documents: check the waste classification, shipping documents and receiving facility details match the load.

What goes wrong

Plastic scrap orders fail on contamination and paperwork. Bales contain mixed polymers, labels, dirt or moisture, loads are rejected or re-graded on arrival, and shipments are held because the waste procedure was wrong for the material.

Sample before loading, set contamination limits in the contract, and settle the waste procedure first. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources plastic regrind and offcuts for UK recyclers and compounders, checking the supplier's sorting and storage first. See factory verification.