Greenbrier Recycling in Ronceverte has been operating out of the old Coca-Cola plant down by the river for well over 20 years, a staple in the community that keeps the historic building in use while simultaneously helping the environment.

Dedicated recyclers trek over the bridge and down to the warehouse to do their part in reducing the amount of waste building up in the local landfill.

Bob Bennett, executive director with the Greenbrier County Solid Waste Authority, says that despite the regular crowds, the overall amount of recyclables has been dropping steadily for years. This issue is compounded with the newly-implemented trade tariffs between the United States and China, who buys a large portion of recyclables from the U.S.

“Last year we shipped out a total of 1,139 tons of recyclables, and this year we are down to only 979 tons,” Bennett said. “With the new tariffs, China waits for the price per ton to drop even lower than it normally does so they can continue to make a profit while paying the higher tariff, which in turn causes us to essentially eat the tariff cost.”

According to Bennett, China is especially fond of buying cardboard to use for packing goods. Before the tariffs, it wasn’t unusual to sell cardboard at $220 per ton, but now it’s down to roughly $120 per ton, nearly half the price. “We aren’t trying to turn a profit here, but we do aim to break even,” said Bennett, “and at this point we are going way in the hole.”

In March of this year, President Donald Trump issued executive orders calling for import duties on steel and aluminum, which in turn caused China to enact their own tariffs on products imported from the U.S., including a 25 percent duty on scrap aluminum. Both countries continued to expand what goods the new tariffs would cover, until, in August of this year, China released their final list of $16 billion worth of U.S. goods that would now be charged with higher duty rates from a 5 to 25 percent tariff overall. This list includes recovered fiber, scrap plastic, and more, all of which heavily affects the recycling industry.

“It’s a global market,” Bennett explained, “and this has forced the U.S. market to try and look for other markets. Recycling centers work together to get their tonnage up in order to sell, so we buy the aluminum cans from Covington, in order to sell to Nitro, so they can sell them from there. The best money is always with full loads, and some places don’t have the capacity to make the quota themselves.”

However, due to the rising cost overall of doing business, even exchanges between centers here at home aren’t getting the same rates as a few years ago. “We have to pay less down the line, since we get less,” said Bennett. “We used to be able to pay 80 cents per pound on aluminum for what the public brings in, and now it’s down to 44 cents a pound. It’s been as high as 96 cents a pound when the economy is good.”

He explained how the market usually fluctuates depending on who’s buying, and that ups and downs aren’t abnormal in the recycling world. “China will buy and buy until the price gets up too high, then they’ll back off for a while and wait for it to recede a bit before starting to buy again,” Bennett explained. But this downswing has been constant since the new tariffs went into effect.

“I understand that the tariffs are due to increased international traffic, but at some point it has to stop. We can’t keep this up indefinitely.”

The tariffs, coupled with the fact that the center is receiving less recycling overall, is putting a strain on the organization. Bennett says that they aren’t the only ones in this boat, but across the U.S. all recycling places are feeling the same pinch. Bennett is encouraging residents to reduce, reuse, and especially recycle.

Greenbrier Recycling is open 24/7 for drop-offs, and accepts corrugated cardboard, non-corrugated cardboard, brown paper bags, #1 plastic, #2 colored and non-colored plastic, magazines, shredded paper, newspaper, office paper and junk mail, metal food cans, aluminum foil (clean), all rechargeable batteries, and most electronics.

“The only electronics we can’t take are televisions and computer monitors, those have to go to the landfill,” Bennett explained, “but we take just about anything else with a cord or a battery.”

The center also buys aluminum cans, scrap aluminum, copper, brass, radiators, lead acid batteries, stainless steel (non-magnetic), and electric motors. During office hours they also accept hardback books, clear shrink wrap, most appliances, and scrap metal.

Call 304-645-4232 with any questions or to get current pricing. Bennett says the center is also happy to give out information and help the public with their recycling needs. Follow them on Facebook at @greenbrier.recycle or visit their website at www.greenbrier-swa.com. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.