The congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is clogging the Southland recycling industry.
Recyclers throughout the region are scrambling to find extra space to house the massive pileup of paper, plastic and metals that are waiting to be exported on ships stuck offshore, unable to dock and unload, said Brett Jones, president of the Assn. of California Recycling Industries.
A big factor in the shipping traffic snarl is the stalemate between the dockworkers union and employers -- major shipping lines and terminal operators -- over a new labor contract.