DETROIT – It’s hard to imagine how a trade war could turn into a scrap yard fight here.

Yet China is the largest consumer of scrap commodities. And Michigan is a major exporter, generating multimillions of dollars in business when it comes to recycling metals.

So when China slapped retaliatory tariffs on aluminum waste and scrap, recycling operations found themselves on the front lines of the trade war.

Consumers who haul stuff out of basements, backyards and garages hoping to make a few bucks by scrapping already are seeing far less money in return for junk.

It doesn’t get more basic than this: The single most recycled consumer product in the United States is the aluminum can.