Is recycling worth it?
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Recycling programs have been widespread in the US for decades, but the practice isn’t perfect. The intentions of recycling are good, but the scale of the issue is vast. The world produces massive amounts of plastic, some 507 million tons annually, with half designed for single use each year.
![[The recycle logo is seen on a plastic container last September at a recycling center in San Francisco, California. But, the iconic three chasing arrows symbol may be misleading]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/19/19/GettyImages-2174253045.jpg)
But is the action as purposeless as the SpaceX owner claimed? Well, lots of plastic isn’t recyclable — and even items that are usually end up in landfills — although you shouldn’t stop putting your recycling out on the curb yet. The arrow symbol identifies the type of plastic resin used in the product, which helps determine its appropriate route. But that symbol does not guarantee it will be recycled.
![[A father and son on a styrofoam boat paddle through a trash-filled river as they collect plastic bottles in the Philippines in March 2015. The US leads the world in plastic waste production]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/19/19/GettyImages-467472746.jpg)
“The plastics industry—including fossil fuel, petrochemical, and consumer goods companies—continues to put forward plastic recycling as the solution to the plastic pollution crisis. But this report shows that the toxicity of plastic actually increases with recycling,” Graham Forbes, Greenpeace USA’s Global Plastics Campaign Lead, said. “Plastics have no place in a circular economy and it’s clear that the only real solution to ending plastic pollution is to massively reduce plastic production.”.
“It’s simply not possible to collect the vast quantity of these small pieces of plastic sold to U.S. consumers annually,” said Ramsden. “More plastic is being produced, and an even smaller percentage of it is being recycled. The crisis just gets worse and worse, and, without drastic change, will continue to worsen as the industry plans to triple plastic production by 2050.”.
