US
recycling rate is low. Figures from the Environmental Protection
Agency show that America recycles about 34.7 percent of the
garbage it produces. The world's top recyclers, Germany,
Austria, Wales, and South Korea report a rate between 52 and 56
percent.)
Until 2018, China took
40 percent of the US recycled paper, plastic, and metal, but in
January of that year, China imposed strict new rules on the
levels of contamination. Because of that, and a lack of suitable
destinations closer to home, many cities have been forced to
incinerate or stockpile recyclables until they can find a better
solution.
The nation recycles
less than 10 percent of its plastic, compared to 67 percent for
paper materials, 34 percent for metals, and 26 percent for
glass. China's restrictions have especially affected plastic.
Exports of scrap plastic to China were valued at more than $300
million in 2015; they amounted to $7.6 million in the first
quarter of 2018, down 90 percent from the year before.