Chinese restrictions limit recycling locally
Chinese restrictions on imports of contaminated recycled material have made it more difficult to recycle everything from clear plastic strawberry containers to hospital gowns here in the Rogue Valley.
Dubbed the Green Fence, the restrictions are causing markets for many recyclables to dry up as China rejects shipments.
The United States lacks adequate facilities at home to process recyclable material, industry experts said.
Instead, America exports much of that material to China, where it is sorted and processed, then reused to make new products in China's booming manufacturing sector.
Dirty recyclables and garbage mixed into the shipments were separated out and sent to Chinese landfills before the Green Fence crackdown.
"They've decided not to be the dump of the world anymore. I commend them for that," said Tammie Kirk, recycling director at Southern Oregon Aspire in Grants Pass.
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