© 2020 WFAE
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

U.S. Recycling Industry Grapples With China's Foreign Waste Restrictions

Published February 5, 2018 at 1:52 PM EST
Blue recycling bins are seen on a residential street, Oct. 30, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. China is sharply restricting imports on recycled materials, and the impact will be felt across the Pacific Northwest. (Natalie Behring/Getty Images)
Blue recycling bins are seen on a residential street, Oct. 30, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. China is sharply restricting imports on recycled materials, and the impact will be felt across the Pacific Northwest. (Natalie Behring/Getty Images)

Recyclers in the United States are feeling the impact of China’s new strict standards for the recycling it imports from around the world. China wants to eliminate the contamination that comes with the plastic, paper and some metals, but because these new standards are very hard to meet, it is essentially a ban on foreign recyclables.

Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks with  Joe Fusco, vice president at Casella Waste Systems, about what these changes mean for his company and the U.S. recycling industry.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.