<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Eye opening article.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Richard</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="field-label-hidden field-type-ds field field-name-sharing-code-top" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: right;"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox" addthis:url="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2019-4-july-august/feature/us-recycling-system-garbage" addthis:title="The US Recycling System Is Garbage"><div class="addthis_inline_share_toolbox_9xci" data-url="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2019-4-july-august/feature/us-recycling-system-garbage" data-title="The US Recycling System Is Garbage" data-description="China doesn't want our crap anymore, and who can blame them?" style="clear: both;"><div id="atstbx5" class="at-resp-share-element addthis-smartlayers at-style-responsive at4-show addthis-animated" aria-labelledby="at-fe5368fb-a98c-4f1a-93e9-01f7f8d8c28e" role="region" style="position: relative; 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width: 16px; height: 16px;"><g><g fill-rule="evenodd"></g><path d="M27 22.757c0 1.24-.988 2.243-2.19 2.243H7.19C5.98 25 5 23.994 5 22.757V13.67c0-.556.39-.773.855-.496l8.78 5.238c.782.467 1.95.467 2.73 0l8.78-5.238c.472-.28.855-.063.855.495v9.087z"></path><path d="M27 9.243C27 8.006 26.02 7 24.81 7H7.19C5.988 7 5 8.004 5 9.243v.465c0 .554.385 1.232.857 1.514l9.61 5.733c.267.16.8.16 1.067 0l9.61-5.733c.473-.283.856-.96.856-1.514v-.465z"></path></g></svg></span><span class="at-label" style="cursor: pointer; font-size: 10.2px; padding: 0px 15px 0px 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; background-image: none;">Email</span></a></div></div></div><div class="atclear" style="clear: both;"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="field-name-by-line field-label-hidden field-type-ds field" style="margin: 0px 0px 25px;"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" style="font-size: 17px; text-transform: uppercase; font-family: 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif !important;">BY <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/authors/edward-humes" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">EDWARD HUMES</a> | <span class="pubdate">JUN 26 2019</span></div></div></div><div class="field-label-hidden field-name-body field field-type-text-with-summary" style="line-height: 24px; margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" style="line-height: 24px;"><div style="font-family: 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif !important; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 0.91071em; line-height: 24px;" class="">FOR NEARLY THREE DECADES your recycling bin contained a dirty secret: Half the plastic and much of the paper you put into it did not go to your local recycling center. Instead, it was stuffed onto giant container ships and sold to China.</div><div style="font-family: 'Droid Serif', 'Times New Roman', serif !important; font-size: 16px; margin: 0.91071em 0px; line-height: 24px;" class="">Around 1992, US cities and trash companies started offshoring their most contaminated, least valuable "recyclables" to a China that was desperate for raw materials. There, the dirty bales of mixed paper and plastic were processed under the laxest of environmental controls. Much of it was simply dumped, washing down rivers to feed the crisis of ocean plastic pollution. Meanwhile, America's once-robust capability to sort, clean, and recycle its own waste deteriorated. Why invest in expensive technology and labor when the mess could easily be bundled off to China?</div><div class="body_takeaction clearfix" style="margin: 25px 0px; padding: 25px 0px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: dashed; border-top-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><div class="takeaction_left" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102) !important; font-family: 'Droid Sans', arial, helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold !important; float: left; width: 341.5px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal;" class="">story continues here:</span></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102) !important; font-family: 'Droid Sans', arial, helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold !important; float: left; width: 341.5px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal;" class=""><a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2019-4-july-august/feature/us-recycling-system-garbage" class="">https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2019-4-july-august/feature/us-recycling-system-garbage</a></span></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""></div><div class="takeaction_left" style="float: left; width: 341.5px;"><br class=""><a class="takeaction_body" title="Pledge to Say No to Plastic Water Bottles" href="https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/goodbye-plastics/petition/can-you-pledge-to-take-one-action-to-reduce-plastic?promoid=7010Z000001aWDRQA2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sierrarise&utm_campaign=sierrarise&utm_content=plastic" style="color: white !important; font-family: 'Droid Sans', arial, helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold !important; display: block; background-color: rgb(0, 102, 153); padding: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin-right: 12px; text-align: center; border-top-left-radius: 5px; border-top-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-right-radius: 5px; border-bottom-left-radius: 5px; text-decoration: none !important;">TAKE ACTION</a></div><div class="takeaction_right" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102) !important; font-family: 'Droid Sans', arial, helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold !important; width: 341.5px; float: left;"><div class=""><a href="https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/goodbye-plastics/petition/can-you-pledge-to-take-one-action-to-reduce-plastic?promoid=7010Z000001aWDRQA2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sierrarise&utm_campaign=sierrarise&utm_content=plastic" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-image: none; text-decoration: none !important; background-position: 0px -1px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;" class="">Pledge to Say No to Plastic Water Bottles</a></div><div class="">By 2050, there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Let's put an end to that by ditching our plastic water bottles and asking friends and family to do the same.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>