Reduce, reuse, redirect outrage: How plastic makers used recycling as a fig leaf

We are posting a February 15, 2024 article from the NPR (National Public Radio) organization which presents information about how the oil companies and the plastics industry have deceived the public for decades about the benefits of recycling and caused the plastic waste crisis.

According to the article, despite years of recycling efforts, less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled globally and the amount of plastic waste that ends up being dumped in the environment continues to soar.

The plastics industry knows that making new plastic is usually cheaper and of higher quality than recycling existing plastic. Yet, the plastics industry has promoted recycling even though its officials have long known that it would probably never be effective on a large scale.

According to Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, the idea that recycling can solve the problem of plastic waste “has always been a fraud, and its always been a way for the industry to sell more plastic.”

The article explains that the United Nations is leading negotiations for a global plastics wastes treaty. Yet, there is resistance from the plastics industry as well as countries like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. These countries are fossil fuel producers and together with the petrochemical industry which includes plastics producers, they want demand for plastics to rise as demand for gasoline and diesel fuel are expected to decline.

Ultimately all of us need to help find ways to support efforts to hold the plastics industry accountable for its generation of waste and to reduce new plastics production.

We encourage you to read this important article:

Reduce, reuse, redirect outrage: How plastic makers used recycling as a fig leaf