Chinese restrictions put curbside recycling services at risk

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Several Utah residents could lose their curbside recycling service as a result of changes to the Chinese scrap market.

KSL-TV reports the Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District serves more than 83,000 homes in Salt Lake County. Because of higher fees from its recycling processors, the district's board has considered whether to discontinue its curbside recycling program.

The cost to process the recyclables has exceeded the cost of sending them to the landfill.

The Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District contracts with Waste Management and Rocky Mountain Recyclers to process the contents it picks up. Larry Gibbons with Rocky Mountain Recyclers says they face a big problem with new restrictions in China, where the recyclables have been sent.

The Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District board is set to meet next week.