The Global Impact of China’s National Sword Policy
The state of our environment is imperative for the quality of life on Earth. Many landfills are overflowing, cities are swimming in filth and our beaches have as much sand as they do microplastics. To combat the overflow of garbage and bring about a renewable way of reusing some of our trash, it is promoted for any morally-correct civilian to recycle. But let’s take a step back and analyze: how effective is recycling really?
When it comes to recycling and general waste exportation, the world relies largely on China. However, in 2018, China enacted the National Sword Policy, which enforced limitations on how much of our recyclables they would accept.
At its core, recycling is an economic problem. The demand for different materials fluctuates along with the market. So, simply put, if there is little profit to be made from a certain material, it is likely to get scrapped.
The recycling system in Philadelphia is managed by waste companies that also own landfills and incinerators. These companies do not necessarily make money from the value of the material they recycle, but instead in the amount of material they collect. They accumulate masses of recycling and send it to the cheapest place they can; which is why the National Sword Policy was so detrimental to Philadelphia.
Before National Sword, Philly was paying $67.35 a ton when processing recyclables. However, after National Sword, that price shot up to $170. For several months Philly sent about half of its recyclables to a waste-to-energy plant to be burned while looking for a more affordable recycling contractor. The city’s recycling rate hit a low of 8%; a pathetic stat when compared to New York’s rate of 20%, or Boston’s rate of 25%. Currently, that recycling rate has since increased to 13%; although nationally the rate is around 32%.
By 2021, the practice of burning recyclables was ended under our new recycling contractor: Waste Management (WM). In addition, mixing waste and recycling no longer became the norm by 2021, and any unauthorized mixing should be reported to 311.
WM is responsible for processing and selling Philly’s recyclables. Once collected, it is repurposed in the way we imagine:
- Tin and aluminum cans are smelted and shaped into new cans
- Paper is baled ands sent to mills to be repurposed as newsprint, cardboard or paper towels
- Glass is sorted by color before being made into new bottles
Though, plastics are more complicated. Surprisingly, there are many different types of plastics, not all of which are recyclable. The primary plastics recycled in Philadelphia (and formally accepted by China) are Type 1 (beverage bottles) , Type 2 (milk/detergent jugs) and Type 5 (yogurt/butter containers. These types are recycled into containers, paint gallons, pipes or even spun into fabric!
Contamination Crisis: The Challenge of Wishful Recycling
Contrary to popular belief, simply because recycling from a blue bin is sent to WM’s processing center, doesn’t mean it will get recycled.
Contamination is also a major problem. People often engage in Wishful Recycling: where they recycle items that they believe to be recyclable. Items such as greasy pizza boxes, plastic bags, wet paper or styrofoam are most commonly Wishfully Recycled.
When non-recyclables items get mixed with recyclables in WM’s conveyor belts, they get tangled and prevent larger recyclables from being separated from smaller recyclables. One non-recyclable item can cause the whole load to be thrown into the landfill. In order for recycling to be effective, the contamination rate must be under 0.5%.
Contamination is not a problem limited to just the United States or Philly; we can even see this problem at Mount:
”I see a lot of bottles in the recycling that have liquid in them…there’s dirty plates. It’s all stuff that can’t be recycled and it’s a shame.” Mr. Guy Petrucci, Director of Maintenence
Steps to Improve Recycling: Educating and Acting Locally
So what can we do to help?
First and most importantly, make sure to stay educated. Learn what products are actually recyclable and how to properly clean them. Contact your local Department of Public Works or Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to learn more.
Also be sure to generally reduce the amount of disposable products used in everyday life. Try substituting plastic bottles for metal or plastic bags for tote bags.
When recycling, make sure to thoroughly clean and dry recyclables. One greasy pizza box could contaminate your entire block’s load of recycling, so if it cannot be cleaned, you are better off throwing it away.
