91% of plastic isn't recycled (2018)(nationalgeographic.com) |
91% of plastic isn't recycled (2018)(nationalgeographic.com) |
When you do sort your plastic for recycling you’re causing more harm than good because it gets shipped around as people pretend it’s recyclable. Eventually ending up in east Asia where most of it ends up in the rivers and eventually oceans. It would be far better to put your plastic in a landfill.
It gets even worse when you realize that of all the plastics with the recycling logo, only type 1 and type 2 can be recycled. Types 3 through type 7 cannot be recycled except under limited conditions with very specific recyclers, which less than 5% of recycling jurisdictions have access to. And those recycling plants are usually running at full capacity - there just isn’t demand for the recycled product.
Aside from Type 1 and Type 2 - and even some of those cannot be recycled - most any other type of plastic should really be thrown in the trash. At least in the landfill they are secured and entombed such that they are unlikely to break down into the wider environment.