Chinese companies are investing in American recycling. Here's why?
Chinese paper firms are opening offices in the United States to collect and export recycled pulp rather than raw recyclable materials. The trend started after China implemented some new policies that prohibited the import of scrap recyclable materials in 2018, which has enormous consequences on the global recycling market.
It was a saying in the recycling sector that China has the most rigid environmental laws. They didn't impose them. That changed starting in 2013, with a Customs Enforcement Action known as Operation Green Fence.
Laws concerning particular environmental regulations were passed in 2006 and 2010. Also, the country officially started a crackdown in February 2013. Recovered plastic shipments to China fell by around 99 per cent from 2017 - 2018.
After an outcry from Chinese citizens and a public awareness campaign - started in some cases by the documentary 'Plastic China' - the nation implemented some policies known as National Sword, Green Fence and Blue Sky to stop take-out service from resulting in unmanageable quantities in China.
However, recyclable scrap items were still being accumulated, so the sector initiated to adapt. Modifications in Chinese policies have focused attention and energy. American firms, such as Waste Management, have been investing in advancing domestic sorting facilities. Chinese firms have been purchasing old paper mills in the United States to generate scrap material to facilitate China's manufacturing output.
