Plastics industry's recycling deception exposed - Environmental Health News
Plastics industry's recycling deception exposed - EHN
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Plastics industry's recycling deception exposed
February 16, 2024
1 min read
A new report uncovers decades of misleading claims by plastic producers about the viability of recycling, revealing it as a flawed solution for waste management.
Dharna Noor reports for The Guardian.
- The Center for Climate Integrity's report uncovers that the plastics industry has promoted recycling as a viable option for decades, despite knowing its limitations.
- Recycling plastic is not economically or technically feasible due to the need for meticulous sorting and the degradation of materials upon reuse.
- Evidence suggests that the industry's misleading marketing campaigns about recycling may have violated consumer protection laws.
Key quote:
"It’s time to hold them accountable for the damage they’ve caused."
— Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity
Why this matters:
This exposé lays bare the profound disconnect between the plastics industry's public facade and its internal acknowledgment of recycling's limitations. Recycling plastics is extremely problematic due to toxic chemical additives.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”