SEATTLE _ In 2017, about three-quarters of the stuff Seattleites dumped in their blue recycling bins _ from grocery store ads and crumpled cracker boxes to shampoo bottles and yogurt tubs _ was shipped to China. These days, virtually none of it is. The majority of the material is being recycled much closer to home _ at facilities across North America and, increasingly, right here in the Pacific Northwest.
It's a transformation that would have once seemed unthinkable. For more than two decades, China eagerly sought out the world's paper and plastic waste and paid handsomely for it. Then, in 2018, the Asian nation slammed the door, fed up with shipments so filthy with garbage and debris, they couldn't be recycled and were a nightmare to dispose of.
China called its new policy "National Sword," and the impact was immediate. Recycling programs across the United States suddenly found themselves with mountains of materials and no market. The West Coast was hit especially hard because of its reliance on cheap transport of recyclables via otherwise-empty shipping containers headed back to Chinese ports.
In the months after the policy took effect, thousands of tons of mixed paper from communities across King County were landfilled. In Seattle, revenues from the sale of materials dropped from $8 million in 2017 to $4.7 million in 2018. Dozens of Washington cities, from Puyallup to Pullman, raised or added fees for recycling. Several stopped accepting materials like glass and some plastics, while the city of College Place, near Walla Walla, scrapped its whole program.
So why do some experts consider the upheaval the best thing to happen to American recycling in ages?
Partly because new, domestic markets for recyclables are emerging. Partly because the financial shock wave galvanized companies that collect and sort recyclables to upgrade their facilities. But also because communities and governments are finally being forced to confront some dirty truths about recycling and look for approaches that are cleaner and more accountable.
"We've been sloppy at all levels, and this has been a chance for us to really revamp our systems," says Heather Trim, executive director of the advocacy group Zero Waste Washington. "We see National Sword as a huge opportunity for Washington."
Washington's Legislature responded to the crisis with a flurry of bills, including a statewide ban this year on the flimsy plastic grocery bags already banished from Seattle and other cities. A comprehensive analysis of plastic waste is due this fall. Proponents hope the results of that study will convince lawmakers to adopt radical changes in recycling, shifting the burden to the manufacturers that create so much packaging in the first place.
"There's a real interest at the state and local level to get the manufacturers of the material to be responsible for that material ... and I think that's a good thing to improve the health of recycling," says Laurie Davies, Solid Waste Program manager for the Washington Department of Ecology.
Legislation that would have made Washington the first state to require a minimum level of recycled content in plastic beverage containers _ topping out at 50% by 2030 _ was vetoed by Gov. Jay Inslee as part of coronavirus-related budget cuts. But a Recycling Development Center, created in 2019, continues to serve as a think tank to boost research and market development.
