The National Waste & Recycling Association represents companies that are on the front lines of collecting plastics and other recyclables for recovery.
The Arlington, Va.-based group is weighing in on China's proposed ban on recyclables. Member companies own many of the material recovery facilities around the nation that initially separate plastics from other recyclables before they are shipped to reprocessors.
NWRA is concerned about the action in China aimed at recyclables being called National Sword.
"The National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) supports the efforts of the Chinese government to improve environmental protection and standards within its recycling infrastructure. However, the decision to ban the import of recyclable materials would have a significant impact on the waste and recycling industry. Not only will the ban impact the recycling industry in the U.S., but also the Chinese manufacturing industry that relies on those materials," the group states.
The trade group said "the ability of the American markets to absorb the banned materials would be strained" considering the amount of materials currently going to China.
"At a minimum, this is anticipated to affect the costs of these materials. However, it could result in the lack of markets for some of the materials altogether forcing material to be landfilled," the group states.
"The U.S. recycling industry relies on the mostly volunteer efforts of the public to separate their recyclables from their waste. Should banned materials end up landfilled, the public confidence could be shaken creating long term consequences in material quality and segregation efforts," NWRA states.