Large American waste-processing companies, which have long relied on exports to China for their survival, are facing difficulties as a result of China's ban on imports of junk.
These companies say the disappearance of China, the largest foreign market, is a drag on their earnings.
In response, the Wall Street Journal reported 2nd that companies were considering raising prices and adjusting their operations, and that U.S. companies had been exporting waste to China for 10 years, and that a new policy in China had upended the industry. The Wall Street Journal reported that China's ban on imports of junk has led to a glut of scrap markets, causing global scrap prices to plummet.
U.S. waste Management and Republic services, the top two solid waste disposal companies in the United States, have recently lowered the recovery sector's profit forecasts under China's new policy. Richard Coupland, Vice President of the Republic services company responsible for municipal sales, said: ' At present, our sales to China are 0 Richard Couplain. "We can still deliver some scrap, but our economic model is completely reversed."
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Last year, U.S. exports of waste products sold to China accounted for 31%, with a total value of $5.6 billion, according to a data from the US Waste Recycling Association. According to a contract with 2,400 cities in 40 states and territories of Puerto Rico, Republic services deals with about 6 million tons of paper, glass, plastics and other recyclable materials each year.
Before this year, about 40% of them were shipped to Chinese scrap buyers who would break down the purchased waste and then produce new boxes, packaging materials, toys and other goods.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the cost of shipping waste to China by U.S. waste-recycling companies was low, as shippers shipped goods from Chinese factories to the U.S. ports, so they often offered very favorable prices. ' We're happy to get the scrap out at a very cheap price. ' said Coupland.
But now things are getting complicated. Because of the disappearance of Chinese buyers, Coupland said, Republic service companies have found new buyers in Malaysia, India and other markets, but few boats have gone there, pushing up the entire cost of transportation.
Plus the global price of second-hand materials has plummeted, and the Republic's service companies are actually losing money to export their waste overseas. The Wall Street Journal says the cost of recycling companies is increasingly likely to be passed on to American households and businesses.
In some towns, this would make it too expensive for them to accept recycling services. ' The recycling industry as a whole will face challenges unless these cities start to envision a better, more sustainable business model, ' says Coupland.
' This means that the contract prices of waste-recycling companies and cities will be higher, as Coupland said, which could lead to a doubling of average household spending on recycling services, up to about $7 a month. According to the Wall Street Journal, many people in the recycling industry say that improving recycling can help customers keep their costs low.
China's import ban raises the threshold for pollution from waste imports, and U.S. recycling companies will have to upgrade their equipment and hire more workers to meet tougher standards. In major recycling markets such as Dallas, Philadelphia and Phoenix, 30% to 50% of the material in the dustbin could be contaminated or could not be recycled, Coupland said. ' Therefore, these customers will not only pay the cost of sending the rubbish to the processing plant, but also pay for the rubbish classification.