Paper trail

Canada is one of the biggest exporters of recyclable paper to India, but that paper is often contaminated with plastic waste, leaving a country struggling with its own waste management and pollution problems to deal with Canada’s dirty laundry. Muzaffarnagar, three hours north of the capital Delhi, is home to 30 paper mills, where recycled paper products are turned into books, newsprint, tissue paper and cardboard. The mills reportedly receive around 20,000 tonnes of imported waste paper a month. Much of that comes from Canada and the U.S.CBC News spoke with dozens of paper mill operators in Muzaffarnagar. They said the plastic waste in Canadian imports often exceeds the two per cent contamination limit permitted by Indian regulations, with some bales stuffed with huge quantities of hard-to-recycle plastic items like water bottles, packaging containers, and courier packaging.