State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

China's Foreign-Waste Ban Could Have Recycling Repercussions in America

Governing: Starting this month, China will no longer buy most of the paper and plastic U.S. consumers recycle. In July, Chinese officials told the World Trade Organization that they will limit the entry of “foreign waste” by banning two dozen types of materials that often contain “dirty wastes or even hazardous wastes.”

The announcement has thrown recycling programs across the country into turmoil. With China out of the picture, American waste and recycling firms are scrambling to find new buyers for the scrap they collect from curbside bins. For many years now, China has been the largest global importer of most recyclable materials. The U.S. alone exported about two-thirds of its wastepaper and more than 40 percent of its discarded plastic to the country last year. China plans to replace the materials it imports with recycled material collected at home.

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