America’s manufacturing revival is long overdue. But if we’re serious about building resilient supply chains and strong domestic industries, we can’t base them on imported garbage while litter lines our roads and fouls our waterways across the nation.
A new study from Dr. Raymond Robertson of Texas A&M University shows how unstable our dependence on foreign recycled materials has become. His research, Plastic Trade, Tariffs, and the Case for a Deposit Refund System, reveals that even small shifts in tariffs can cause U.S. imports of recycled plastic to collapse. That volatility doesn’t just rattle trade statistics—it destabilizes manufacturing and drives up costs for consumers.
The U.S. has built an economic contradiction. On one hand, Washington is imposing tariffs to strengthen domestic production. On the other, federal tax breaks are being proposed for industries that rely on processing foreign waste. That’s like subsidizing a leaky boat while congratulating yourself for bailing water. We can’t fix the trade imbalance or clean up our environment if we’re still importing other countries’ trash.
This matters far beyond plastics. Manufacturers across packaging, construction, and automotive sectors increasingly depend on recycled materials for production. Aluminum, glass, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are all essential inputs for American-made goods. But as global supply chains buckle under tariffs and trade disputes, companies are learning that imported recycled content isn’t just environmentally questionable—it’s economically reckless.
Instead of bankrolling foreign waste streams, we should be investing in our own. States like Oregon and Iowa have quietly shown how to do it. They have built systems where bottles and cans are consistently recovered, processed, and recycled, creating stable feedstock for domestic manufacturers and dramatically reducing litter along the way. These states aren’t waiting for federal rescue or global charity; they’ve built circular economies that work for their people and their industries.
That’s the model for resilience. It rewards responsibility, keeps money circulating in local economies, and ensures manufacturers have reliable access to recycled material without depending on trade policy mood swings. Contrast that with the national picture, where only about one-third of beverage containers are recovered and billions of dollars’ worth of valuable material ends up clogging storm drains or buried in landfills each year.
Federal policymakers could learn something from the states that treat recycling as an economic asset rather than a bureaucratic obligation. The goal shouldn’t be to chase global waste flows with taxpayer grants—it should be to make domestic recovery profitable. That’s what the best systems do: they align market incentives with public outcomes. Incentivizing the public to recycle through recycling refund systems are proven to provide the positive outcomes we need – more material for domestic manufacturing, less trash in waterways.
If the United States wants to reduce pollution, lower costs for industry, and strengthen supply chains, the answer isn’t to import more trash from abroad. It’s to reclaim what we already have. Every can, bottle, or piece of plastic we collect here represents American energy saved, American jobs supported, and American waterways kept clean.
Resilient economies aren’t built on unstable imports. They’re built on resource independence—on the idea that prosperity and stewardship go hand in hand. Turning inward on recycling isn’t isolationism; it’s common sense. America can lead the world in clean manufacturing, but it starts by cleaning up our own act first.
Joe Trotter is the executive director of Americans for Clean Water.
