Five years ago, Philadelphia was getting paid good money by contractors for recyclables — about $65 a ton. eBy last year, it was paying $4 a ton just to get rid of it. Now, it’s paying $38 a ton.
The change has not gone unnoticed. That plastics and other scraps meant for recycling are ending up in landfills — at a cost to taxpayers — was an issue raised through Curious Philly, our new question-and-response forum that allows readers to submit questions about their community in need of further examination.
“We made the argument that recycling was so much cheaper, but that’s getting closer to not being true,” said Nic Esposito, director of Philadelphia’s Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet. “That’s scary.”
City taxpayers will likely chip in about $2 million to cover the increase this year, according to budget figures.
If the trend continues, recyclables could become just as expensive to get rid of as ordinary waste, which means items once recycled will go straight to landfills, undoing decades of work to get residents and businesses to go green. (It costs about $63 a ton to dispose of waste at a landfill.)
The cause of what many call a recycling crisis began in 2013 when China shifted away from its role as the world’s major recycler. As part of its crackdown on pollution, China began demanding ever purer loads of recyclables. Previously, Chinese facilities might have accepted loads that were 10 percent or 20 percent contaminated by non-recyclable plastics or paper and cardboard that was wet or dirty.
But the last year has been particularly painful for recycling. China is now demanding that loads be no more than half a percent contaminated, and contain no mixed paper (such as office paper mixed in with newspaper) — an impossible standard to meet for most municipalities. In Philadelphia, as much as one-fifth of each load might be contaminated.
Recycling companies had to figure out how to unload millions of tons elsewhere. Recyclers have been able to find some domestic and overseas markets such as Vietnam and India for plastics, but those countries are now overwhelmed.
China distressed markets even more when it refused all recycling from May 4 through June 4. Recyclers had to stockpile loads.
“We put so many eggs in the basket in China,” Esposito said.
Philadelphia and many municipalities use contractors to process single-stream recycling. Contractors are now appealing to residents to use less plastic and be cautious of what they put in recycling bins. The goal is to get loads as pure as possible.
Read the full story at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/recycling-philadelphia-china-waste-managment-republic-services-20180723.html?photo_2.