Recycling becoming more difficult with new Chinese ban

For years China has been the world’s consumer of recycled material, buying and repurposing some 50 percent of the United States’ recycling. But recently they have become more strict and selective when it comes to the kind of recycled materials they are importing.

Last year Beijing announced they would be banning certain solid wastes, adding more to the list this year. A total of 56 varieties of solid waste will be banned by 2019, most notably plastics 3-7.

The waves of this decision are being felt worldwide. Here in Idaho, recycling plants now have to sort out all 3-7 plastics, which are no longer recyclable. DVDs, bottle caps and sandwich bags are among these items.

People not realizing the change continue to recycle them. These items, once considered recyclable, are now being sent to landfills.

There is concern that many plants won’t go through the extracting processing and will instead send many items that can be recycled to the landfill too.

Rick Gillihan, managing partner at Western Recycling, said that nearly 15 percent of the material that is sent to his plants ends up in a landfill.

After all, the cost to landfill is much cheaper than recycling. To send one ton of material to a landfill costs about $30. One ton of recycling? Nearly $170.