The Plastic Recycling Scam: Have Companies Been Lying for 30 Years?
As the threat of global warming grows, plastic pollution is also reaching alarming levels. Recycling, which has been put forward as a solution to this problem, has now been revealed to be a scam.
According to a report published by the Guardian, plastic producers have known for over 30 years that recycling is not economically or technically feasible. Despite this, they marketed recycling as a solution to promote plastic use.
Findings of the report:
- Plastic producers created an ever-growing market by focusing on “single-use” plastics from the 1950s onwards.
- When plastic pollution increased in the 1980s, the industry put forward recycling as a solution.
- Even in 1986, it was known that plastic recycling was not a permanent solution.
- The Plastic Industry Association and other industry groups hid this fact and ran campaigns to increase trust in recycling.
- Chemical recycling is not a real solution either and harms the environment.
- Plastic production and disposal account for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, further deepening the climate crisis.
Results:
- The plastic industry has deliberately misled the public, leading to a global environmental crisis.
- Companies need to be held accountable and their business models need to change.
- Urgent action is needed to combat plastic pollution and the climate crisis.
In light of the information in this report, it is clear that instead of reducing plastic use and switching to a recycling-based system, radical changes are needed in waste management and production processes.