Americans are recycling more than ever, but most would be disappointed to hear that most of their recyclables are heading straight to the landfill. Most of America’s recyclables are shipped to China for processing. Last summer, China announced as a part of their broad antipollution campaign they would no longer import “foreign garbage.” China tighten the standards for materials and banned other types of plastic and paper. There are domestic and other country processing plants, but none can pick up the slack from losing China’s plants. It is common for people to recycle items that they think are recyclable, even when they are not. This is a problem, because of China’s stricter requirements, materials deemed unrecyclable mixed in with recyclable materials contaminate the pile. Republic Service, one of the largest waste managers in the country, has sent more than 2,000 tons of paper to the landfill, since the Chinese ban. Smaller recycling companies have sent all their collected recyclables to the landfill. Others have begun to stockpile on material in hopes for finding a new processor or that China reconsiders their policy.