A ban on foreign waste entering into China is having a direct impact on local recycling operations here in our region.

For the past number of years China was taking in about half the world's unwanted paper and plastic where its large manufacturing sector would process the materials into new products.

However, a lot of the solid waste coming from countries like Canada and the U.S. also contained dirty and hazardous materials that were harmful.

So, in an effort to protect the country's environment and people's health, Beijing issued a list of 24 kinds of solid waste that it would no longer accept, starting in 2018.

China's decision to no longer become the dumping ground for the developed world has created some challenges for recycling operations locally.

"Those restrictions are affecting the commodity prices," said Richard Neufeld, General Manager for Blue Sky Opportunities in Altona. "One example is cardboard. Last year at this time cardboard was worth about $193 a metric tonne and right now it's down to about $80 a metric tonne because of the limited market availability."

Blue Sky collects, sorts and bales the recyclable materials in Altona and area and then sells that material to brokers who in turn sell to companies that remanufacture that material into new products.

The drop in price for cardboard and paper is a huge hit to Blue Sky's bottom line, according to Neufeld, who said that in some cases they've been forced to give their materials away due to the lack of market demand.

"We didn't get any money for it, but at least it didn't go into the landfill."

That's a big concern for municipalities across Canada struggling to find places to ship their recyclables.

If they are unable to find new markets, most of that waste will likely find its way into local landfills.

Some of the waste material is being sold into some emerging markets in Asia, but at lower prices, which means lost revenue.

That's a challenge that Winkler based recycler Gateway Resources is up against in its operations.

"We are still getting rid of our stuff, but it's just that prices are down right now," said Lonnie Derksen, Director of Operations. "The people that we sell to are paying us less for our material, and some of the stuff we have to give away. That means we're putting a lot of work into sorting it, but the value is either zero or sometimes we have to pay to get rid of it."

Derksen said that kind of situation makes it tough to make a profit on their recycling operations.

"We're fortunate because we also have the wood shop operation here at Gateway and so sometimes one department will help out the other."

In 2017, Gateway Resources collected 2,550 metric tons of recyclable material from their local area, while Blue Sky gathered about 550 metric tons of waste.

Statistics Canada data shows that in 2013 and 2014, Canadians diverted more than nine million metric tons of material from landfills.