China's ban on "foreign waste" may aid the spread of AI in the US

Before getting a second life, metals, plastics, cardboard, and other solid recyclable materials often embark on a long journey that touches two continents. Every day, about 1,500 shipping containers of recycled materials are loaded onto cargo ships in the U.S. and dispatched to China. In fact, since 2007, recyclable waste has been one of the U.S.' main exports to China, a partnership that fueled the Asian nation's manufacturing boom. As China's economy increasingly shifts to services, reducing its dependence on the polluting manufacturing industry, its government is getting more serious about environmental protection. While recycling is obviously beneficial for the environment, practically nobody is perfect at it.