APLA ’18: Plastic waste grows in US landfills following China ban

CANCUN, Mexico (ICIS)–Plastic waste volumes in US landfills have been rising since January when China implemented its ban on all post-consumer recycling plastics and scrap, a consultant said on Monday on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Latin American Petrochemical Association (APLA).

“China imported more than 7m tonnes of recycled plastics in 2016, and over 10m tonnes just from the US over the last 30 years,” a source estimated.

Roughly 111m tonnes of plastic trash are estimated to pile up in US landfills in the next 10 years unless the trade war between the US and China is resolved in favour of the US or a new buyer emerges soon.

Despite initiatives to recycle material proposed by big companies in the US, which consume large volumes of plastics for packaging their products, recycling in the US does not exceed 18% of all plastics.

China’s ban is making producers and consumers rethink how plastics are disposed of.

Current recycling infrastructure is lacking, as municipalities do not have efficient means to separate the different types of plastics, paper, cans and other recyclables that are collected together.

In short, recycled plastic pellets are usually as expensive as or even more expensive than virgin material.

Unless the government mandates reforms to increase the percentage of recycled material to be blended with virgin resin and more efficient collection and recycling methods are implemented, plastic waste will continue to accumulate.

The APLA annual meeting runs through Tuesday.