Corona headaches

摘要

I remember a phrase from a lesson at school about 'if America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold'. These days, of course, that can just as easily apply to China, especially when it comes to the scrap markets and recycling. Well, now we also have the coronavirus and, sadly, the consequences are proving much more serious than a sneeze or a cold. At Recycling International, we are fully aware that the spread of the virus, firstly in China and then increasingly abroad, is making a real difference to recyclers, traders and their businesses. Most of our market reports in this issue refer to uncertainty caused by the virus. Cancelled or postponed trade shows and conferences are the most obvious signs of this. If the Japanese are talking about postponing the Olympic Games, it's not surprising that some international gatherings of recyclers aren't going ahead. Even so, the Bureau of International Recycling has told us it hasn't yet seen significant disruptions to the movement of scrap.