Rethinking Recycling: How Cities Can Adapt to Evolving Markets
Author:
Corinne Rico and Cooper Martin, National League of Cities' Sustainable Cities Institute
Date Published:
2018
Description:
1.5-10 percent over the last several years. In actuality, these standards were only enforced for a brief period of time, and importers still accepted highly contaminated loads, sometimes up to 40-50 percent trash.
Now though, China is making a serious
effort to tackle its own environmental issues. Additional restrictions are scheduled to take effect later in 2018 and in 2019, and China aims to halt all solid waste imports by 2020.
As a result, prices have plummeted for many types of recyclable commodities and revenues are dropping for cities, haulers and processors who rely on these sales.
Cities throughout the U.S., as well as private haulers and operators of materials recovery facilities (MRFs), must reevaluate their operations and policies in order to adapt and maintain viable municipal materials management systems.
Get this document:
Please help us keep our resource pages current by reporting any broken links or outdated information by using the link below: Report Broken Links, Missing Pages, or Accessibility Issues Report form
