New Chinese restrictions affecting recycling in El Paso, Las Cruces

New regulations in China has the company that processes recycling material for El Paso and Las Cruces asking for more money to survive, or be forced to shut down.

Friedman Recycling has a contract with El Paso to keep recyclable material out of a landfill by processing the recyclables into a raw material that is then sold to manufacturers.

It has sold the majority of the material to China. However, China’s new “National Sword Policy” severely restricts imports of recyclable materials.

Morris Friedman, the president of Friedman Recycling, said mixed paper was the largest component of El Paso’s recycling program. Mixed paper is now banned from being imported to China under the new policy.

“It’s extremely devastating. It’s something that is unprecedented and unpredictable,” Friedman said. “It significantly and fundamentally changes the recycling industry.”

The city has a contract with Friedman Recycling until 2030 in which the city pays the company $75 to process one ton of material. Friedman is asking for the city to pay $115 per ton due to increased costs incurred by “National Sword.”

“I’m not pointing fingers; I’m not placing blame. This is a very difficult situation,” Friedman said. “This is strictly an effect of the Chinese government.”

The city’s environmental services department said this amendment could cost the city over $10 million over five years.

“From an economic standpoint we have to look at, is that how the city wants to spend our money,” said the director of the Environmental Services Department Ellen Smyth.

“I think our existing contract addresses those ups and downs, and that’s the point,” El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said.

City Council took no action, leaving the contract as is — and forcing the company to take a hard look at its future.

“It looks like we’re going to either look at — within the current realms, the current language in our contract — to see what we can do to make some adjustments to the pricing structure, or shut the facility down,” Friedman said. The city of Las Cruces is on board to pay more in its contract, he told ABC-7.

“This is something that’s very important,” said Gill Sorg, Mayor Pro Tem.

Sorg admitted that city leaders are somewhat troubled at the new restrictions.

“We have to have a recycling program that is sustainable,” Sorg said. “It means that this may be a very difficult thing to do if we cannot recycle our materials through China.”

“Our processor is feeling the impact,” said Keysha Burton, recycling coordinator for the city of Las Cruces. “They are having to slow down the sort line, they do have to have more labor staff sorting the materials.”

The City of Las Cruces recycles at a much better contaminant rate than El Paso, Burton said. Around 33 percent of El Paso’s recyclables have contaminants and only 13 percent of Las Cruces recyclables are contaminated.

Click here to find El Paso’s recycling guide

Previously, China required a contaminant rate of five percent or less, but now, Burton said China’s “National Sword” will require less than one-half percent contaminant rate.

“It drives up the cost of processing, which makes recycling not necessarily the most financially beneficial,” Burton said. “There are so many environmental benefits to recycling, but we have to figure out a way to balance it out with the now high cost of recycling.”