A LETTER FROM... THE UNITED STATES

摘要

It has been just over three years since China announced its National Sword programme, which has had a dramatic impact on recycling programmes in the United States and elsewhere. Under National Sword, China has imposed significant restrictions on the import of recyclables and scrap. Because the United States sent nearly 17 million tonnes of recovered materials per year to China, local governments, recycling facilities and scrap processors have been forced to find other markets for much of the paper, metal and plastic that we recover from the waste stream. A lack of domestic processing facilities, along with other countries following China's lead in reducing imports of recyclables, have made this challenging.