EUGENE, Oregon — China’s recent announcement that it will ban plastic scrap and similar waste imports in 2018 from the United States offers an opportunity to create green products and jobs at home, says a new report written by The Cascade Alliance, a national alliance of nonprofit recyclers.
In July of 2017, China announced that in 2018 it will follow new standards for accepting scrap plastic, textiles and mixed paper from foreign countries. As a result, many businesses worry it will be cheaper to send these goods to the landfill instead of recycling them.
Executive Director Terry McDonald says, "Ultimately, China's ban on waste imports will interrupt the industry, but retail thrift operations are resilient. There are opportunities to recycle the plastic that China has banned. By changing the way they divert waste, thrift stores can be successful and profitable.”
The issue is not that China will not accept any plastic from the United States, McDonald points out. It’s that they won’t accept the contaminated loads currently reaching their shores. Enterprising organizations that can generate clean streams for recycling can still get to market.
A new national report from The Cascade Alliance says that the ban presents an opportunity for businesses, specifically for retail thrift operations, to expand their services. With a lack of easy and affordable options for disposal in communities, one option might be for thrift operations to offer clean plastic and metal collection to their customers, resulting in more materials reused and more jobs created.
Cascade Alliance has helped the thrift industry find innovative solutions in the past. Its founding organization, the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, uses equipment that melts styrofoam into a dense, heavier block, making it easier to transport and sell back to manufacturers. Last year, the organization recycled 25 tons of styrofoam that would have otherwise gone into landfills, and this year, the organization has a goal to increase that amount by 20 percent. This process reduces the amount of trash the retail thrift store produces, and it is another item that can be donated, making it a more attractive drop-off location to customers who are also donating clothes and furniture.
The Cascade Alliance believes that plastics recycling operations could potentially attract customers and create jobs. The organization invites other retail thrift operations to contribute to the conversation about how a system could be implemented.
About Cascade Alliance
The Cascade Alliance is a national network of 11 nonprofits diverting waste to create jobs for people who face barriers to work. Network members turn discarded mattresses, books, clothing, glass and other items into a stable revenue stream and source of secure, quality jobs. The result is financial stability for nonprofits, a cleaner, more sustainable environment for all, and the opportunity for a healthier, more secure life for the most vulnerable communities. Organizations who join the Cascade Alliance demonstrate a commitment to helping create jobs that lead to better health, typically through access to health insurance or other health services. The Cascade Alliance is managed by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.