We Can’t Handle Our Own Trash

The United States is already pretty bad at recycling, and we just got a whole lot worse.

What changed?

• We used to just send most of our recycling to China, but last year China decided it had had enough.
• In July 2017, China announced that it would no longer accept imports of “foreign garbage” starting in 2018. China made the move because it planned new efforts to recycle its domestic waste, and because foreign waste was often improperly sorted. (Looking at you, guy who puts pizza boxes in the recycling bin.)

Where can it all go?

• While Vietnam, Indonesia, and some other countries still buy recyclable materials, there’s no market on the scale of China.
• Meanwhile, bales upon bales of recyclable materials are piling up in warehouses around the country, and some cities and towns have started sending them to landfills.
• In some Western states, which relied heavily on Chinese recycling plants, local garbage systems are no longer accepting certain items for recycling.
• The United States already generates more waste than any other country in the world, recycles far less than other industrialized countries, and has an underdeveloped recycling infrastructure compared to other thriving economies.
• The Los Angeles Times has urged California leaders to start working on comprehensive plans to reduce the use of plastic, but these calls have been met with little support.

What do you think?

Do we need major regulatory action to improve recycling infrastructure, and/or to reduce disposable plastic use? Hit Take Action, then share your thoughts below.

—Sara E. Murphy

(Photo Credit: Michelle Arseneault)