The Why – Can’t really recycle plastic…
Ecowatch – The Myth About Recycling Plastic? It Works – By Tiffany Duong
An Excerpt: “The plastic recycling model was never economically viable, but oil and gas companies still touted it as a magic solution to waste, selling the American public a lie so the companies could keep pushing new plastic.”
Another except: (emphasis ours)
“We are all guinea pigs in this experiment, as plastics accumulate in the food web, appearing in seafood, table salt, and ironically even in bottled water. Many plastics are mixed with a toxic brew of colorants, flame retardants, and plasticizers. Joe Vaillancourt is the CEO of a company that refines waste plastic into fuel — a process that requires removing such contaminants from curbside recycling. “In one little 10-pound batch,” he says, “we found a thousand different chemicals.” Some of these additives are linked to cancer and severe health problems.”
The Guardian – ‘Plastic recycling is a myth’: what really happens to your rubbish? – Oliver Franklin-Wallis
An Excerpt:
“…about half of all paper and cardboard, and two-thirds of plastics – will be loaded on to container ships to be sent to Europe or Asia for recycling…”
Another Excerpt:
” Then, on the first day of 2018, China, the world’s largest market for recycled waste, essentially shut its doors. Under its National Sword policy, China prohibited 24 types of waste from entering the country, arguing that what was coming in was too contaminated. “
WBUR – Exposing The Myth Of Plastic Recycling: Why A Majority Is Burned Or Thrown In A Landfill – By Tonya Mosley & Samantha Raphelson
An Excerpt: (emphasis mine)
“So if recycling plastic is such a farce, why have we been doing it all these years? Lerner says going back to the 1970s, there have been efforts by the plastic industry to make recycling look good for the planet.”
Forbes – These Three Plastic Recycling Myths Will Blow Your Mind – by Laura Tenenbaum
Excerpts:
“Myth number 1: You might think your single-use plastic water bottle goes off to be shredded, melted, ground up into tiny plastic pellets and these good-as-new plastic pellets are re-made into other useful items.”
“Myth number 2: You can try tossing those fun bright orange, purple or blue containers of laundry detergent and shampoo into the recycling when they’re empty. “
“Myth number 3: Single-use plates and utensils labeled “biodegradable” must be a sustainable alternative, right?”
..and therein… lies the rub!
Read below and you will know…
NPR – How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled – Laura Sullivan
Rolling Stone – How Big Oil and Big Soda kept a global environmental calamity a secret for decades – By Tim Dickinson
An Excerpt: “Since 1950, the world has created 6.3 trillion kilograms of plastic waste — and 91 percent has never been recycled even once, according to a landmark 2017 study published in the journal Science Advances.”