Ever since China tightened its restrictions on the materials it would accept, cities across the U.S. have been having trouble offloading various recycled materials. Take Des Moines, Iowa, for example, where about 20 tons of paper a day ended up in the landfill this past summer because no one was willing to take it.
In Des Moines, recyclable materials once garnered hundreds of thousands of dollars on the open market, according to the Des Moines Register. But since China’s import ban went into effect earlier this year, that revenue has dropped significantly.
