Let's play a game.

name a foreign policy decision that has directly affected you.

If you can't think of one, don't panic. You're not alone.

Most of us don't spend our time following the activities of foreign governments.

We don't learn much about international relations in school.

Look, I work at a foreign policy think tank, and when I first came here, it would have been really

hard for me to answer that question.

Part of why we don't keep foreign policy issues in mind is that it's hard to understand how they

affect our daily lives. But there is something happening right now that does.

Something we grew up thinking we were getting right. Recycling.

Ah, that is some refreshing milk.

Now, just got to take my milk jug, we throw it in the trash.

Wait a minute, this milk jug is made of plastic.

It's not trash.

It needs to be recycled.

There you go.

Hey, did you ever wonder what happens to stuff when you recycle it?

The Sesame Street Gang and other beloved childhood models

taught us that recycling was a local issue. Throw something in the blue bin and bam it comes

back a little while later as something new. But the reality is more complex. For years

our recycling wasn't going down the road, but halfway around the world

to China. But then in 2018, China changed its mind and refused to accept our

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