A Guardian investigation reveals that cities around the country are no longer recycling many types of plastic dropped into recycling bins.
Analysis of US export records shows that the equivalent of 19,000 shipping containers of plastic recycling per month, once exported abroad, is now stranded at home.
Show Hide Every plastic item is given a number from 1-7 to signify the kind of plastic it is made from.
“In the past, recycling facilities would focus on separating plastics with the most value, but most other plastic items would go into a mixed plastic bale.
The China ban revealed an uncomfortable truth about plastic recycling, Skye said: much of this plastic was never possible to recycle at all.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest While plastic bottles still retain value, many other types of plastic have virtually no domestic market.
Her organization recently helped establish a carpet recycling program in California to require the carpet industry to pay for the collection and recycling of plastic carpet fiber. »
