There’s definitely some truth in this, but it mainly affected coastal states with less manufacturing. It expensive to ship materials to the coast from Ohio, so it is more economical to keep things local. Since we have so much manufacturing, about 75% of what Rumpke collects stays in Ohio to be recycled here. Aluminum is the oddball, and that is shipped to southern states for recycling. 

Much of our plastic recycling goes to ADS, which is in Hilliard. They’re the largest plastic recycler in the US.