In 2018, changes in the recycling market have sparked a global "crisis" in the industry. On 31 December 2017, China announced its "National Sword" policy, setting new standards for imports of recyclable material and banning materials that were deemed too "dirty" or "hazardous". The new policy caused drastic disruptions in the global market in recycling and reduced the prices of scrap plastic and low-grade paper. Exports of recyclable materials from G7 countries to China dropped dramatically, with many exports shifting to countries in southeast Asia. The crisis generated significant concern about the practices and environmental sustainability of the recycling industry. The abrupt shift caused countries to accept more recyclable materials than they could process, raising fundamental questions about shipping recycling waste from economically developed countries to countries with few environmental regulations—a practice that predated the crisis.