06 July, 2018

Hidden in plain sight: what the recycling crisis really looks like

The recycling industry has been in crisis mode in Australia since January when China, which previously bought 50% of the recycling we collect, implemented a ban that cut out 99% of what we used to sell.
The The recycling industry is in crisis, yet for most Australians
 it’s out of mind beyond the rattle of the recycling bin
pickups each week. So what does this crisis really
 look like? Guardian Australia visited three processing
sites to find out what happens to bins once they leave the kerb
Recycling companies had relied on this export revenue stream to stay afloat – the amount of waste recycling we create exceeds the demand we have to buy and use within Australia. Without an outlet, some companies began stockpiling recycling or sending it straight to landfill.

Now the industry is in an uneasy state as it moves to fix the problem, and what happens to our waste depends mostly on which bin it ends up in. 


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