Post #1938250

2026-05-04 02:08 UTC

Recycling plastic is a lie. Only 10% of plastic gets recycled, less than 1% gets cycled twice. Those symbols on the bottom of a plastic container? The three arrows chasing each other “recycling” label? It was made up for public relations (read, “deception”). Who is behind all this? Follow the money. #FossilFuel Companies “Despite internal industry awareness of the technical and economic obstacles facing recycling at scale, Big Oil and the plastics industry have deceptively promoted recycling as a solution to plastic pollution for nearly four decades to avoid legal limits on production or outright bans, according to recent reports by CIEL, NPR/PBS Frontline and the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI). “ https://mstdn.social/@Npars01/116513565129317242

Replies (4)

@simonbp@social.linux.pizza 2026-05-04 02:59

@meltedcheese@c.im I briefly worked in a plastics factory one summer (rebuilt their Access database). They did a ton of post-industrial plastic recycling, e.g. turning carpet trimmings into pellets into fibers. That was easy and profitable. The post consumer recycling was a mess and they could only resell it for the lowest quality products.

Open ##1938249
@ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org 2026-05-04 02:10

@meltedcheese It's MADDENING that the "recycle label" doesn't mean recyclable. I only learned that in recent years... all my life as a kid, I though that symbol meant "THIS IS OKAY, IT'S RECYCLABLE!"

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@lynneverson@masto.ai 2026-05-04 02:13

@meltedcheese so depressing

Open ##1965690
@jistr@fosstodon.org 2026-05-04 18:32

@meltedcheese It's a bit more than that in the EU: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20181212STO21610/plastic-waste-and-recycling-in-the-eu-facts-and-figures It's also important to note that "it won't get recycled" should not be an excuse against sorting of trash. Sorting also allows for plastic to be used in energy production. Yes it makes CO2, but it's much better than if that same plastic ended up in a landfill or in the ocean. Of course it's best to prefer eco packaging, but if we already have a piece of plastic waste in hand, we should at least sort it out properly.

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