Australian Recyclers Feeling Crushed by China’s New Rules

Australia’s recycling industry is in crisis mode and faces uncertainty as China’s tough new restrictions on imports of recyclables disrupt their business model.

The new import controls have had “a massive commercial impact,” Garth Lamb, business development manager with recycling company Re.Group, told Bloomberg Environment.

Lamb described the situation as “a commercial crisis, rather than an environmental one,” with recyclables now going to destinations other than China, but at extremely low prices, which has left recycling businesses reeling.

Prices for recyclables are “absolutely smashed,” he added.

Australia exported about 29 percent of its waste paper and ...