The Impact of China’s Waste Refusal Decision on Small-Town Recycling Plants

For many years, China grew to become the world’s largest importer of recyclable materials. The rise of single-stream recycling in the U.S., which saves Americans the headache of sorting their recyclables, passed the headache on to Chinese processors. As a result, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment cited environmental damage caused by "dirty wastes or even hazardous wastes" mixed in with solid waste that can be recycled into raw materials. The country has now placed strict standards for what it will and will not accept from other countries. In one fell swoop, China essentially changed the entire world market.

While big city recycling plants have lessened the impact of China’s decision for customers, rural and small-town recycling plants have not had the ability to follow suit. Many small towns and rural areas cannot shoulder the financial burden these new policies have created. In some places, recyclers have stockpiled certain materials in the hopes of locating a buyer. Many materials have declined in value as the market is flooded, with some even becoming worthless. Many big cities absorb the financial losses, fearing that if costs are passed on to customers, they will stop recycling. Unfortunately, small cities do not have this option. Rural recycling programs are already more expensive to manage than big city programs, as homes are further apart and greater distances must be covered. Recyclables must also be shipped to centers that can find markets for the products. As a result, a number of small recycling plants have scaled back or even stopped accepting certain items, such as plastics labeled with specific numbers or glass containers. Other local recycling centers have begun charging residents to dump their recycling.

Unfortunately, for many of these small towns, recycling centers have never made much money from a number of collected items, such as lower-quality plastics like numbers 3-7. These plastics are composed of a blend and do not break down easily. In addition, buyers typically want large quantities of these types of plastics, which rural and small town areas are unable to offer. The money spent to collect and ship these items no longer makes a profit for small town centers.

Towns in Erie County, PA, for example, have cut back on accepting glass, some plastics, and even some paper. County Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Brittany Prischak said she fears the new limits will make it much harder for recycling to survive in the state’s small-towns, despite the requirement under state law that communities with more than 10,000 residents have recycling programs. The costs are just too high. In Columbia County, NY, the annual recycling budget was exhausted over the summer. Now, the county will charge residents $50 for a permit to drop recyclables off at one of its recycling centers. Jolene Race, director of Columbia County Solid Waste Department, said the current program is unsustainable "unless you have a huge tax base where they just don't care…smaller counties don't and they have to pass (the cost) on."

America’s National Parks Become America’s Trashcans

Recently, the U.S. federal government has shut down, leaving national parks open, but largely unmanned. Beginning on December 21, trashcans and toilets in our nation’s national park have been overflowing and trespassing has been reported.

The issues have become so bad, that the Department of the Interior announced that they would dip into funds collected from entrance fees to pay for trash clean up, restroom maintenance, and additional law enforcement patrols. However, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) responded that using entrance fees would divert badly needed funds from the park service’s massive $11 billion maintenance backlog. In addition, only 117 of the more than 400 national parks collect fees. This means that hundreds of parks will have to compete for funds. The NPCA has not responded on how much funding will go to each park.

According to Diane Regas, the president of the Trust for Public Land, “Never before have I seen the federal government tempt fate in national parks the way we are today…It's not about what has happened already. It's about what could happen if you don't have the appropriate staffing.” While the number of staff varies from park to park, the NPCA estimates some 16,000 parks service employees have been furloughed since the shutdown began. This leaves a very small number of employees for maintenance and security.

Jon Jarvis, the former National Park Service director under the Obama administration, discussed the risks of trash piling up in the parks. Unfortunately, an abundance of trash can upset the delicate balance parks strive to maintain between visitors and wildlife. According to Jarvis, “For the past couple of decades, the park service has worked hard to wean the black bear population from human food.” This issue can lead to many serious problems, because once wild animals, such as bears and coyotes, begin to associate humans with food, the risk of attacks or euthanizing of animals increases.

David Lamfrom, the director of the California desert and wildlife programs at the National Parks Conservation Association, stated that, “There are well-intentioned people who are leaving long term effects in National Parks because they don’t have the ability to consult with…The longer this goes on, the larger the impact becomes.” In addition to dangers for animals, unmanned parks can also be dangerous for visitors. Since the shutdown, three deaths and one serious injury have been reported in parks.

Once the government shutdown is officially lifted, a whole set of new problems face the nation’s parks. Park employees will be responsible for cleaning up the mess left by visitors, which in turn will further delaying projects that have already been deferred. According to Lamfrom, the full scale of the problem is yet to be determined, and clean up timelines will vary in length. Lamfrom stated that, “Some [efforts] will take weeks or months. Some will last generations. Some may not be able to be fixed.”

As a result of ongoing damage and failure to maintain the parks, Jarvis, Regas, and others say that the parks should be fully shut down until the government reopens in order to prevent any further damage. 

Plastic Straw Bans: Will it Make a Difference?

California has recently become the first state to ban plastic straws in restaurants. Beginning in 2019, customers will have to ask for straws if they want them. They will no longer be offered without asking. Other places, such as Seattle, have also joined this movement. In July, Seattle became the first major US city to ban single-use plastic straws and utensils. Even some big corporations, like Starbucks, Aramark, and American Airlines, are making the move to ban plastic straws.

Plastic waste, including single-use plastics like straws and utensils, are a big problem. In 2015, worldwide plastic consumption totaled 300 million metric tons. When broken down, that is essentially 88 pounds of plastic a year per person globally. It is estimated that less than 9 percent of all of the plastic used daily is recycled. Most of it ends up in landfills or in the ocean. Even though many people think they are being environmentally friendly by recycling, the stats tell another story. Research shows that more than 79 percent of all plastic ends up in the landfill, even if it is thrown in a recycling bin first. Another 12 percent is incinerated, which is having a negative effect on the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, this problem will not be resolved simply by eliminating straws. However, environmentalists say that we have to start somewhere. Eliminating straws and other single-use plastic is a great first step in a much-needed, larger, global behavior change. According to Plastic Pollution Coalition CEO Dianna Cohen, "We look at straws as one of the gateway issues to help people start thinking about the global plastic pollution problem…They've been designed to be used for a very short amount of time, and then be tossed away."

Some companies are taking this issue to heart, and moving beyond simply eliminating straws. Aramark, a global company that operates in schools, prisons, hospitals, and businesses in 19 countries around the world, recently vowed to reduce its straw use 60 percent by 2020. In addition, the company also plans to cut back on plastic cutlery, plastic bags, and "various packaging materials." Across the pond, other proposals for banning plastics are being considered in the UK and Europe. If enacted, these proposals could eliminate nearly all single-use plastics in restaurants and businesses across the European continent, including straws, cutlery, cotton swabs, cups, and carry-out containers. According to Greenpeace UK's political adviser Sam Chetan Welsh, "If we are to protect our oceans from the scourge of plastic, the flow of waste needs to be cut off at the tap…That means the companies producing and selling all this packaging must take responsibility for it and cut down the amount of plastic ending up in our shopping baskets."

While removing single-use plastics may seem like a big move that might not be successful, traditionally such moves have been effective. For example, in the US in the 1960s, unregulated pollution caused a range of problems including offshore oil spills and asthma-inducing car exhaust. With the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, regulation had a positive impact on both the environment and the economy. While all environmental problems have not been eliminated, things have certainly improved and can continue to do so. In fact, the EPA currently promotes the simple "reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra. Environmentalists like Cohen hope an extra “r” can be added to this mantra: "refuse." Even if single-use plastic is offered, people can make the choice to refuse it. As social psychologist John Bargh said, "the more you practice doing something, the less effort it takes." If we can make reuse a habit, it will be far easier to curb the plastic problem that seems to be overtaking the planet.