Single stream recycling is no longer accepted by China and now recycling protocols have changed. According to ofallon.mo.us, China was the number one importer of recyclable materials but has officially gotten tired of how poorly Americans have been recycling. Companies that sort recyclable products have been losing money because of plastic bags, food, and waste that should be thrown away. This garbage contaminates loads and it ruins entire batches of material for China

“All cities using single stream must change their recycling programs or face significantly higher costs and customer rates or consider ending recycling,” according to lakesaintlouis.com

Now recycling will be done with the same recycling bins and the only materials that will be accepted are hard plastic, tin, aluminum and glass. Paper is not allowed.

“With China not accepting our waste, recycling has become more difficult. With increasingly stressful lives people tend to not care about sorting their waste which has led to further difficulties,” senior Sai Bhavanasi said.

There might be more options to get rid of paper and cardboard in 2019, but for now, the protocol is being still being worked out.