“Some regard this campaign as the second ‘Green Fence,’” said Steve Wong, CSPA executive president, referring to a 2013 crackdown seen as China’s biggest to date on waste imports.

“While plastic recycling can sometimes be one of the industries responsible for pollution the government’s intention is to crackdown on all recycling operations without proper controls and facilities,” he said in the statement. “This policy will become a ‘new normal’ for China in the future.”

The newest campaign, called “National Sword 2017,” began with a government announcement Feb. 7 and is expected to last one year.

Another Chinese industry group, the recycling committee of the Beijing-based China Plastics Processing Industry Association, said that Guangdong Province and other areas have been “seriously affected,” with companies concerned about imports stacking up at ports and some importers facing “survival challenges.”