LONDON — China's ban on importing recycled plastic garbage is causing trash to pile up recycling facilities around the UK. <br /> <br />China imported 7.3 million tons of waste plastic in 2017 from the U.S., the EU, the UK and Japan, Conversation reported. <br />But starting this year, it is now banning 24 categories of recyclables and solid waste. <br />Britain alone sends around two thirds — about 500,000 tons — of its recycled plastic garbage to China every year. <br /> <br />Recycling companies are now scrambling to find other markets for their recyclables, the Telegraph reported. <br /> <br />Some UK recycling firms are now looking to Malaysia and Vietnam, however, both those countries have capacity issues. <br />Unless other alternative markets can be found, the plastics will have to be sent for incineration or dumped in a landfill.
