Finally caught the error in that big recycling story from last month

Kept seeing everyone post about how China stopped taking our plastic waste, but they missed the part where most of it was already being diverted to Southeast Asia for years before that ban. Am I the only one who noticed the timeline was off in every major outlet?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnson.river1d ago

Yeah exactly, I noticed the same thing. Like @davis.olivia said, that timeline gap got buried, and when I talked to a guy who worked in recycling logistics he confirmed most of that Southeast Asian diversion had been happening quietly for years.

paige1661d ago

Wait did that guy actually say it was "most" of the diversion? I worked a bit in that sector a few years back and the numbers never added up to "most." It was a big chunk sure, but most of that plastic was still going to China. Vietnam and Malaysia took some but not the majority. I think people overstate it because they heard the horror stories. The real shift happened when China's ban actually kicked in hard.

davis.olivia2d ago

The timeline gap got buried because everyone wanted a simple story about China, not the messy reality.