The growing smiles you see among recycling collectors and processors are because of continuing market improvement.
The growing smiles you see among recycling collectors and processors are because of continuing market improvement.
OCC and other recovered fiber grades are allowed in to China but with strict contamination thresholds. | noomcpk/Shutterstock
China bought less of the world’s recycled fiber in 2019, the second year in a row of major decreases in recycled material imports. And the country’s environmental ministry has reiterated plans for an all-out import ban next year.
China no longer wants to receive garbage from other countries. As a result, enhanced import inspections by Chinese customs officials have led to severe recycling market confusion worldwide, especially for shippers of recovered paper and plastics.
A months-long string of rising prices for recovered materials has continued into February.
A campaign aimed at curbing criminal activity could cause headaches for those legally sending recyclable materials across the Pacific Ocean.
A rebound in commodity values meant substantial recycling-related revenue boosts for North America’s two largest residential haulers.
Contract negotiations between West Coast dock workers and their employers have appeared to hit a boiling point, leaving recycled material in need of export stuck in ports – and potentially bound for landfills.
A global recycling trade group says China has rekindled its scrutiny of imported plastics.
New York City businesses achieve a waste-reduction goal, and two popular beverage companies make changes to the materials they use for packaging.