When it comes to recycling, even my husband says I’m “a little obsessive.”
I essentially memorized the list of accepted recyclables on the website of the waste company that my town contracted for collection to ensure no recyclable ended up in the landfill -- a service for which the county raised our 2018 property taxes.
I was happy to pay the extra tax. I was happy to pay out of pocket for the two extra bins we needed to accommodate our recycling efforts — a total of four bins filled every week.
Alas, as of February 1st, 2019, everything now goes into the big, wheeled trash bin and ends up at the landfill dump.
It’s been about four weeks since this policy went into effect and the contrast is stark and depressing.
Before the program suspension, we had one single kitchen bag of garbage go into the big bin per week. That’s it.
After the suspension, we’re up to four per week even though I personally avoid purchasing overly packaged and canned food items.
Yesterday, after doing our once-monthly shopping for certain bulk items at a discount store, the cardboard box containers couldn’t fit into the bin for the pickup tomorrow, even though we broke them down. I had to store this cardboard, plus all the paper I used to recycle, for next week’s pick up.
Our County & The Waste Company Sent Notices Stating This Suspension Is A Result Of China Retaliating For Don Burn Spur’s Tariffs.
From the letter I received from my town (emphasis mine):
“Effective February 1, 2019, we will temporarily suspend weekly residential recycling collection. The primary factor for this change is the decreased market demand for raw recyclable materials, such as plastic, glass, and paper. These materials are no longer being purchased by processing countries, such as China and others. All materials set curbside for recycling will be taken to the county landfill.”
The letter goes on to say we should keep our four recycling bins because, if the marketplace for recyclables “improves,” they may “revive” the program.
An August 2018 Waste Industry article that further explains this is a direct result of the Orange Menace’s tariffs:
The Chinese government announced it plans to levy a 25 percent tariff on old corrugated cardboard (OCC) and other recovered fiber, as well as scrap plastic, in retaliation of the latest U.S. tariff proposals. The tariffs will go into effect on August 23.
Major players in the recycling industry, including the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), were quick to comment on the latest tariff proposals.
“SWANA has been concerned for some time that the Trump administration’s trade dispute with China would affect the already diminished movement of scrap and recyclables from the United States to China,” noted David Biderman, SWANA’s executive director and CEO. “If the 25 percent tariff is implemented, I’d expect exports to China to decrease even further. …”
https://www.waste360.com/business/recycling-industry-responds-china-tariffs-paper-plastics
Other areas across the nation are either suspending their entire Recycling Programs, or suspending specific items like plastic and paper because China is no longer purchasing these items in retaliation to trump tariffs.
Oregon:
China's ban means recycling is piling up at Rogue Waste System in southern Oregon. Employees Scott Fowler, Laura Leebrick and Garry Penning say their only option for now is to send it to a landfill. www.ephratareview.com/...
Here are just a few more of many other local news reports on the problem:
www.statesboroherald.com/…
www.nbcconnecticut.com/…
www.dailylocal.com/…
www.ephratareview.com/…
It’s becoming am international crisis: ‘Plastics Pile Up as China Refuses to Take the West’s Recycling.’ see www.nytimes.com/…