As of the most recent data, the United States exported about 920 million pounds (approximately 417,000 metric tons) of scrap plastic in 2023, marking a significant decrease compared to previous years. This represents a drop of about 80% since 2015, largely due to changes in global waste import policies, especially China’s 2018 ban on plastic waste imports. In 2024, Canada was the leading destination for U.S. plastic scrap exports, receiving about 142,000 metric tons, followed by Mexico with over 87,000 metric tons
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As of the most recent data, the United States exported about 920 million pounds (approximately 417,000 metric tons) of scrap plastic in 2023, marking a significant decrease compared to previous years. This represents a drop of about 80% since 2015, largely due to changes in global waste import policies, especially China’s 2018 ban on plastic waste imports. In 2024, Canada was the leading destination for U.S. plastic scrap exports, receiving about 142,000 metric tons, followed by Mexico with over 87,000 metric tons
Of the plastic that didn’t get exported, how much got really recycled, do you know?
Futurama called this out like a decade ago