To wit:
- To date, only 9% of the plastic ever produced has been recycled. UPDATE: make that 5%!! (as reported by Beyond Plastics and the Last Beach Cleanup).
- In the U.S., only 8% of all plastic generated was recycled in 2017 (down from 9% in 2016)
- only 14% was collected for recycling, with a much smaller percentage (~2%) functionally recycled into new plastic packaging.
- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated in 2017 that, globally, 95% of plastic packaging material value was lost after a single use
- Plastics can only be recycled once or twice. Recycled products will still have virgin plastic added for quality.
"Mismanaged waste"
China - National Sword
China banned the import of plastic waste in 2018; Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Indonesia have followed with their own restrictions.
Waste Export continues
countries rejecting shipments [link]
Environmental Justice (EJ)
recycling doesn't function without poverty
page in development: Environmental Justice
What do the chasing arrows ♻️ mean, anyway?
"Recyclability" is a mixed bag...
Yet the ACC still encourages us to learn the right ways to recycle: