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US States Banned From Exporting Trash To China Are Drowning In Plastic

hackingbear writes "Not only we depend on Chinese labor for the imports but we also depend on them to clean up our mess. Being green is getting a lot harder for eco-friendly states in the U.S., thanks to the country's dependency on overrun Chinese recycling facilities since the start of China's Green Fence policy this year. Recycling centers in Oregon and Washington recently stopped accepting clear plastic "clamshell" containers used for berries, plastic hospital gowns and plastic bags, while California's farmers are grappling with what to do with the 50,000 to 75,000 tons of plastic they use each year. The Green Fence initiative bans bales of plastic that haven't been cleaned or thoroughly sorted. That type of recyclable material, which costs more to recycle, often it ends up in China's landfills, which have become a source of recent unrest in the country's south. For every ton of reusable plastic, China has received many more tons of random trash, some of it toxic. That has helped build 'trash mountains' so high they sometimes bury people alive. For a country facing environmental crisis after environmental crisis, it is no longer tenable to accept US waste exports."

2 of 427 comments (clear)

  1. Only green when convenient. by MouseTheLuckyDog · · Score: 0, Troll

    The problem with all those greenies. They are willing to be green about everything until it becomes their turn to sacrifice then they throw their hands up get in the private jets that burn more feul in onme day then a family of four does for 10 years and say "Oh well."

  2. Re:Just dig a really deep hole by cayenne8 · · Score: 1, Troll

    That's what they want us to do, but *after* we've done some of the leg work to actually sort the stuff. Given that so many Americans put garbage in recycling bins with utter abandon, it's really no surprise the Chinese got fed up with us.

    Not a problem in my house.

    Everything goes into the garbage can...no recycling whatsoever....

    :)

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    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........