I posted on this story last year. China is working to go green and cut down on pollution, and last year they stopped accepting our recycling. Right away it posed a problem for the US, many states just started puttting it in the landfills. But now it is becoming somewhat of a crisis. Recycling is starting to pile up around our nation. I realized it was beggining to be a compounded problem when I seen articles saying how overrated recyling was trying to convince the public that recycling was not all that great. Well here we go, we will see how this one plays out. Here is the article I read today on the matter.
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See more at the link https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/3...an-on-recycles
Excerpt:
For plenty of Americans, recycling is practically second nature. It’s mandated by law in cities such as New York, San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Seattle, where apartment buildings, office spaces, and restaurants must recycle plastics, cans, cardboard, and glass, unless their owners want to face a fine. But even in cities where it’s not required by law, recycling is mainstream. It has turned into a virtue boasted by restaurants like Sweetgreen and fashion brands like Gap, H&M, and Madewell, which recycle clothes in stores and produce clothing lines made of recycled materials.
The problem, though, is that while recycling has become trendy, it’s also becoming harder to do.
You might not know where all your recycled goods go, but they’re a part of a vast ecosystem that spans the globe and contributes to a $200 billion industry. One country that used to be the biggest importer of recycled materials, especially for the US, is China. But last year, it stopped accepting most foreign recyclables as part of an effort to crack down on the country’s pollution. As a result of this ban, the global recycling system has been crumbling, and plenty of cities in the US are now struggling to figure out what to do with their recycled goods.
According to a recent report from the New York Times, hundreds of local recycling programs in American cities and towns are collapsing. In states like Tennessee, Florida, and Pennsylvania, cities are reportedly sending newspapers, cans, and bottles to landfills, while others are burning their waste instead. As the treasurer of California put it, “We are in a crisis moment in the recycling movement right now.”