Consumers in the U.S. might not have been aware it was happening, but prior to 2018, a great deal of the plastic materials they put in their blue bins were collected, bundled up and shipped to China. Once there, a lot of those materials were processed, recycled and remanufactured into new products—some of which made their way back into the U.S.
So if you’re keeping track, the bottle you recycled in 2017 might’ve traveled 8,000 miles to China, been processed and remanufactured there, then traveled another 8,000 miles back to the U.S., where you might’ve purchased it in a new product stamped with “Made in China.”
If that seems a little backward to you, it is—or at least, it was.
Beginning on New Year’s Day in 2018, China officially closed its borders to imports of 24 types of solid waste—scrap plastics among them. This new policy—known in China as National Sword—rippled throughout the U.S., which now had more material than could ever be recycled, or even put into landfills. It’s led to many conversations within the recycling, plastics, aluminum and paper industries about how to change global recycling practices to account for the new paradigm.
What challenges did the import ban create?
Some of the materials previously shipped to China had limited demand from the domestic market. That’s why they went to China or several of the other Southeast Asian nations that had thriving markets for recycled material; it was more profitable for materials recovery facilities (MRFs), manufacturers and plastics recyclers to send these materials halfway around the world than it was to keep them, find a buyer or processor locally, or send them to a landfill. With National Sword in place, those MRFs and recyclers have to find new partners and build a new supply chain to preserve the value of these materials without involving China.
What opportunities did the import ban create?
Since the ban took effect, there have been numerous announcements about investments to build out domestic processing capabilities—both from U.S. companies and Chinese, which were also impacted by the ban. For example, six recyclers from China announced investments in new facilities in the U.S. to process the materials they previously received in China. These facilities will lead to new jobs in the U.S. and new markets for companies that collect these materials to sell them domestically instead of shipping abroad.
National Sword also presents the U.S. with an opportunity to rebuild its supply chain so domestic companies comply with the needs of domestic customers. Demand for plastics in the U.S. continues to increase, but the U.S. industry has had difficulty meeting those needs because of a lack of capability and reprocessing capacity. With China closing its doors to much of the country’s scrap material, U.S. companies can step up to fill in the gaps.
What has happened since the import ban went into effect?
In 2018, the plastics supply chain engaged with and invested in recovery solutions in a way that it never had before, both directly and indirectly in response to the import ban. This includes an increase in commitments from brand owners to use higher levels of recycled content.
A few brands include:
- Target, which has pledged to create three new end markets for post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic by 2020
- Procter & Gamble, which has pledged to use approximately 8.4 million pounds of PCR to produce bottles with up to 50% recycled content
- Unilever, which has pledged to increase its use of recycled content to 25% by 2025
New business relationships have been formed to drive the creation of new technologies that offer solutions beyond mechanical recycling. This can help increase profitability for recyclers, processors and other manufacturers. Take a look:
