Plastic producers have known for more than 30 years that recycling is not an economically or technically feasible plastic waste management solution. That has not stopped them from promoting it, according to a new report.
“The companies lied,” said Richard Wiles, president of fossil-fuel accountability advocacy group the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), which published the report. “It’s time to hold them accountable for the damage they’ve caused.”
I believe you’re confusing recycling with what your local recycling program will accept. It’s convenient if they accept all plastic “recycling numbers” but many of those numbers are aspirational, with no known way of actually recycling that type of plastic. Manufacturers knew this, but promised that the technology to do so would be forthcoming. It has not been forthcoming, and current and future generations will suffer for it.
But even when plastic is recyclable, it’s still shit, and we should be trying to minimise its use in everyday consumer products.