May 20, 2021: The International Lead Association on May 4 announced it had signed up its first Chinese company, the Jiangsu New Chunxing Resource Recycling Company, which is based in Pizhou, midway between Shanghai and Beijing.

The company was founded more than 40 years ago, it says, with ISO 14001 and 45001 certification achieved in 2013, according to chairman Yang Chunming.

“We are delighted to welcome New Chunxing as our first Chinese member and look forward to collaborating in our work to promote the responsible management of lead worldwide,” said Andy Bush, managing director of ILA.

New Chunxing was the target of protests in Victoria, Australia last year, when locals opposed the company’s proposed lead battery recycling plant in Latrobe Valley, where 50,000 tonnes of used batteries a year are to be processed.

The company rejected the fears, saying emissions would be far lower than EPA standards — and in September, the state approved the construction of the plant.

In 2008, Chinese newspaper reports said a facility owned by the company, then named the Chunxing Alloy Group, was responsible for the poisoning of several children in the village of Xinsanhe, in Pizhou. The plant was forced to relocate to a nearby industrial park.

Speaking to the ILA, Yang Chunming said the company was committed to contributing to China’s circular economy and was looking forward ‘to working together with ILA to positively impact the sustainability credentials of the lead battery industry in China’.