Critics call out recycling "fraud" by plastics industry

About 48 million tons of plastic waste is generated in the United States each year, but only 5 to 6 percent of it is actually recycled. A new report from the Center for Climate Integrity, "The Fraud of Plastic Recycling," accuses the plastics industry of a decades-long campaign to "mislead" the public about the viability of recycling. Correspondent Ben Tracy talks with the report's co-author, Davis Allen, and with Jan Dell, a former chemical engineer, about an inconvenient truth surrounding the lifecycle of plastic. [Originally broadcast April 14, 2024.]
"CBS News Sunday Morning" features stories on the arts, music, nature, entertainment, sports, history, science and Americana, and highlights unique human accomplishments and achievements. Check local listings for "CBS News Sunday Morning" broadcast times.
Subscribe to the "CBS News Sunday Morning" KZbin channel: / cbssundaymorning
Get more of "CBS News Sunday Morning": cbsnews.com/sunday-morning/
Follow "CBS News Sunday Morning" on Instagram: / cbssundaymorning
Like "CBS News Sunday Morning" on Facebook: / cbssundaymorning
Follow "CBS News Sunday Morning" on Twitter: / cbssunday
Subscribe to our newsletter: cbsnews.com/newsletters/
Download the CBS News app: www.cbsnews.com/mobile/
Try Paramount+ free: paramountplus.com/?ftag=PPM-0...
For video licensing inquiries, contact: [e-mail]

[@TheVitamin421]

I'm so tired of always being lied to by big major companies who are profiting millions, if not billions off of us, THE CONSUMER.

[@middleagedjabroni]

Thats how the real world works. You dont get something for nothing.

[@user-er3ri6sc3j]

The love of money is the root of all........?

[@HAL-9000x]

@@middleagedjabroni Unless you’re the producers of plastics who generate profits, all while the rest of us are forced to pay the price for their products. It’s called corporate socialism.

[@HAL-9000x]

@@user-er3ri6sc3j The lack of regulation combined with a political party that basically bankrolls oil companies and produces of plastics.

[@cartoonraccoon2078]

@@middleagedjabroni Ok, now string together two more empty phrases. Neither of those mean anything, nor add to the conversation.

[@ParapluieDefenestrator]

Thank you for reporting on this. The recycling business is a fraud, and the consumer is not to blame for plastic waste - the producer is.

[@tdelphia1]

But now that we know plastic is mostly NOT being recycled, we consumers have to make choices about what kind of packaging we buy...for the planet, and to send a message to the companies that lie.

[@JH-pt6ih]

@@tdelphia1 No, the average consumer need to not do a darn thing until the wealthiest people need to be FORCED to stop living in opulence. All that is going on now is poorer people are being forced through laws and taxes to not consume products so the wealthiest can have them.

[@Yosef9438]

Consumers need to make better choices, though. You can't pretend consumers aren't throwing this stuff on the road and in the water.

[@kendra9894]

I think we are too. We knew....it was convenient. Even those pretty reusable plastic bags are still plastic. We need to use hemp, cotton, or some other natural fiber.

[@GregLakatosChradm]

You bought the product. You are just as responsible.

[@kellysonnenberg212]

We just need to go back to waxed paper, paper and glass like it was like in the 80s

[@ds7675]

Our town won’t even take clear glass anymore.

[@kellysonnenberg212]

@@ds7675 that's just wrong

[@Ch-yz4yt]

NOt taking glass isn't new. In the last 10-15 years the majority of my trash services that do recycling as well refuse to take any glass because it is a "hazard" if it breaks. Glass is one of the most easily recycled materials. It's frustrating.

[@dragondancer1814]

@@ds7675Ours stopped recycling glass years ago, and as a sop they suggested buying items that come in plastic jars or metal cans instead! Do you have any idea how many _foods_ only come in glass bottles or jars?! Salsa, nacho cheese, pickles, relish, olives, rice/wine/balsamic vinegars, maraschino cherries, gefilte fish, pasta sauce, jams, jellies, some beers, wine, liquor, wheat germ, soy sauce, and Asian condiments are all examples of food or beverages that _only_ come in glass jars or bottles, and that’s just what I could name right off the top of my head! We need to bring back glass recycling because it’s been done for generations with no troubles, and glass can be recycled almost indefinitely, whereas plastic cannot. The town slipped on a banana peel with that one!

[@lizhall2961]

Waxed paper has problems too.

[@tiger7199]

We've been greenwashed for years by the plastic industry. They have always known it's cheaper to produce new plastic rather than recycled plastic. We've been duped.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Some of us weren't even "duped", but it isn't as though we had a say in the matter. 😂 If you ain't rich, then you ain't sheet. 90% of the humans on this planet have no influence on what the elite 10% do. Obviously. 💪😎✌️ Rich gotta rich, and the poor gotta serve, suffer, and submit. That's what schlaves are meant to do, after all.

[@MF-qf7bs]

If we shut down all plastic producing manufacturing facilities for a mandatory three years, how fast making plastic good from recycled plastic would become profitable would make our head spin.

[@VermontLiving99]

And what about the environmentalists? The Democrats and Progressives? They are the ones to blame here. The plastics industry didn't pass the laws that legally require me to recycle. It took the left wingers this long to figure out all this is a sham and they don't have to provide any explanation why?

[@RanyaKato]

​@@MF-qf7bs Lol you're not wrong.

[@TheCharleseye]

You can thank the tree huggers of yesterday. They're the ones who made such a big push to switch to plastic to "save the trees." Never mind that sustainable forestry is far and away better for the planet than using plastic - even if we were using nothing but recyclable plastic. No, no. What's important is the life of each, individual...tree.

[@likethiscomment.4802]

This isn’t new. We talked about this YEARS ago if not decades ago….

[@betterjustice6697]

Needs to be frontline news, but the govt won't allow such a thing.

[@Paul-ou1rx]

It's not about Joe Biden, so it is approved news.

[@annc.3908]

It never gets solved cause the elites are still in charge and still the ones making the $$$ off our backs

[@apexnext]

Told my recycling obsessed stepmom about this in the 2000s. She didn't believe me in the slightest, until Fox News did a piece on it not a few years ago.

[@TheOfficialOriginalChad]

Decades. I wrote a paper on it for an economics class in 2007.

[@-.._.-_...-_.._-..__..._.-.-.-]

Don't rely on recycling. Focus on reducing.

[@mkhanman12345]

A lot of stuff comes in plastic. They got billions and need to come up with something better.

[@JoeOvercoat]

@@mkhanman12345 Don’t rely on recycling. Focus on reducing.

[@mkhanman12345]

@@JoeOvercoat A lot of stuff comes in plastic. They got billions and need to come up with something better.

[@dragondancer1814]

Why not focus on _both?_

[@ThePursuitWOD]

It’s a tricky situation. There are so many things reliant on plastics, things many don’t even realize. Finding viable material alternatives for all plastics is going to be tricky. Because the new materials would need to be cheap, eco-friendly and useful. Not an easy task. For now, we should all just try to limit buying things containing plastics like you said.

[@MilePost106]

We had it right years ago. We had returnable bottles you could return for money, returnable beer bottles by the case and paper bags we reused at the grocery store. Now we have plastic floating all over the place and plastic bottles littering the road ways!

[@jokerace8227]

The plastic trash even finds it's way into the forests and other wilderness areas. I've seen plenty of trash along hiking trails, and it is infuriating to me.

[@Gertyutz]

You had 2 soda companies and no water bottles. Now there are thousands of beverage companies, and you can't make a 2-liter soda bottle. It's complicated.

[@elizabethchase6528]

@@jokerace8227I've seen plastic diapers at 14,000 feet

[@priscillajimenez27]

Sadly only 10 states had return deposit

[@heatwave]

The last graphic was the most telling - By 2050 there will be more plastic by weight in the oceans that fish. How can anyone not see the problem?

[@XBret64]

I agree that plastics are bad for the environment and we should be concerned, but did they have to use a quote from the World Economic Forum?

[@econtrolable]

Selective sight.

[@ColoringKaria]

Money. They would rather choke on plastic literally than have one fewer dollar.

[@doggygaming950]

And it will be microplastics. Right now, there is plastic in your brain, just like there is plastic in everyone else's brains.

[@JH-pt6ih]

@@XBret64 60 minutes is 100% of the World Economic Forum's mindset. Of course they will quote from it.

[@virginiaf.5764]

I've been angry about recycling for years. Until manufacturers are made to change how products are packaged, until fast food restaurants are made to do away with styrofoam, until, until, until. Everything we all do is pointless. A drop in the proverbial bucket. I'm sick and tired of paying for a service that's bogus.

[@gb.510]

It's not pointless. It's not hard to cut out a lot of those materials if you make it important to you. The take away shouldn't be "oh well guess I don't have to recycle, it's pointless". Perhaps "I will make less waste, stop buying take out, fast food and it's packaging" is how we should look at it. If recycling is out let's conserve water(shorter showers/not letting it run as you gather your clothes), turn off lights and yes actually UNPLUG appliances no matter the slight inconvenience.

[@virginiaf.5764]

@@gb.510 I do all that and have done so all my life. Almost all of my possessions are used - clothing, furniture, household items. I buy detergent in cardboard boxes. No one uses a plastic bag over and over as many times as I do. But until the reasons there's so much waste is addressed, it is all pointless. I'm paying my trash company for a service I'm not receiving and I resent the scam. I am at an age where I'm never going to see the world I live in be cleaned up. I did not say oh well I guess I just don't have to recycle, so don't put words in my mouth.

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

Quit buying stuff in plastic... do you buy your soda, soft drinks and water in plastic or in something else?

[@virginiaf.5764]

@@user-qr7ee2cp4y I get my water free from a faucet because I'm not stupid. Empty plastic food bottles get used to make homemade salad dressings or spice blends or whatever. I save and re-use glass bottles. Soft drinks are a treat I don't do often ... when I do, they're in cans or glass. Anything thing else you need you know? The replies I'm getting have nothing to do with what I wrote, nor did I say I don't recycle. If people aren't angry when they view sea life being strangled by our trash ... fine. I'm justifiably angry, but that doesn't mean I'm sitting around picking my nose.

[@tommcfadden5232]

The same is true of green energy and solar power. Research it and you will find that the world’s biggest polluters are China and India. American consumers baring the financial burden.

[@roxannefebuary6823]

We should have stuck to glass

[@ds7675]

Our town doesn’t recycle clear glass anymore.

[@diahegge5395]

And paper dipped in wax

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Too late. The wealthy control it all. They may do as they wish.

[@strawpiglet]

Glass is much safer to consume from, too.

[@ds7675]

@@strawpiglet Yes, agree! That’s all I use for storage and my tea and coffee mugs, it gives a much cleaner taste.

[@smitastic7030]

When I was a kid in the 80s the soda my parents bought were 8 pk 16 oz glass bottles. You paid a deposit in addition to the cost of the soda for the bottles. We would return the bottles the next week. They were sent back to the bottler where they would wash and refill them with soda. They did the same thing with beer. Why can't they do this now with drinks, water, beer, etc? It would sure cut down on plastic.

[@HAL-9000x]

Glass and aluminum are 100% recyclable and the plastic produces hate that.

[@joshgrimm8443]

Too expensive. Less profit for big business. Easy answer.

[@Starrynightz777]

Taste better too

[@Gertyutz]

1--There are too many hundreds of companies now to send bottles back to. 2--companies won't switch back to glass because it's costly to ship. 3--We DO pay a deposit in NY, but we put our bottles into machines at the supermarket where they're crushed. The glass and aluminum is recycled, the plastic is probably trashed. 4--And it's not sanitary to re-use plastic bottles.

[@Dan-zs4rk]

“Pay a deposit in addition” there is your problem. Keep that crap in NY those stupid places. Nothing like a bun of losers going around garbage picking for cans N bottles. Machines were always out and a huge pain in the behind.

[@stepheng3014]

What do you know - profits over people. Totally shocked.

[@gooser__43]

What's the alternative to profits 📈 ?

[@princessmiaxo]

​@@gooser__43 covering cost+labor😅

[@gooser__43]

@princessmiaxo then the investor gets nothing; brilliant! No one will invest and all retirement, since retirees are investors will end.

[@princessmiaxo]

@gooser__43 We don't need investors to arbitrarily drive up the price if we can pay for goods by covering the cost of materials and the wage of the people actually making them in the price...which would significantly reduce the price of goods. No CEO nor investor actually works 500x harder than the people making the product, yet that's how they're paid because we must always be making a profit and not just covering means. You're so poisoned by profit bs you can't think of a system outside of profit which iswhy youu even brought up investors. And inb4 you say "but what about [insert "failed noncapitalist country here]", bringing up countries who've tried other systems but fell to covert operations funded by the US doesn't count as a failed example of other systems. We really haven't seen what eradicating the need for profit can do without meddling.

[@gooser__43]

@princessmiaxo where do you get the money 💰 to start the business? Brilliant! You shutdown the economy!

[@Off-Grid]

This crap just really ticks me off! Greed is way to strong and it's clear we're all going to be paying a much high price in the end because of it.

[@lzrd8460]

After reading that plastic is everywhere, including in our blood streams, I am in the process of going back to glass containers in my kitchen. I was going to take all my plastic ware to the recycle bin but after listening to this, what is the point. I will keep the plastic containers and use them in my craft room. My problem is, yogurt, milk, kefir, etc. all come in plastic containers so it’s an uphill battle to try and reduce plastic use!

[@VermontLiving99]

B.S. Greed is not the problem. Yeah, the oil and plastics industries are partly to blame here, but the environmentalists, Democrats and Progressive are the ones who really pushed this on us. It took them decades to figure this out? What, they just believed everything they were told by big business and then passed laws requiring this nonsense? No, they wanted control and they got it. And now, as usual, they aren't being held accountable.

[@MalyaMuth]

CBS - You need to follow this up with a spotlight on everyday products we can buy that don't use plastic containers. The news media loves to share bad news, but rarely the solutions!

[@pioneer7777777]

Agreed!

[@ZeKiwiOfTheNorth]

+

[@TheFroneyZone]

well because it is really hard - plastic is everywhere now - you can start small tho and go from there - like say with milk there are still some businesses using returnable / reusable glass bottles like Oberweis - they are only in the northern midwestern states tho around Chicago but I'm sure there are other dairy companies utilizing the same thing around the rest of the country.

[@startingQB]

I learned this over 20 years ago in school. Unfortunately people believe those fancy commercials instead of experts in the field.

[@miguelmaravilla7646]

Ughhhh! I’ve been recycling since I was little , always making sure everything recyclable goes in the blue bins! This pisses me off fr !

[@Gertyutz]

You're not recycling, just sorting. Recycling means making new products from old materials.

[@sarcasticnews1195]

@@Gertyutz 🤡

[@bbygrlpt2]

And ppl keep throwing away reusable bags.. Youre supposed to use them until they break!!! Otherwise those bags are doing more harm than regular plastic bags

[@ColoringKaria]

Yeah I’m starting to see that?! Like WTH!

[@semperfi6801]

We knew that was never going to go over well. Not surprised at all. Even charging for them. People still throw them away.

[@bbygrlpt2]

@@semperfi6801 True and they charge like 5 cents!! They should charge at least $1 to make ppl bring their own bags😒

[@swannman169]

As a community we should be able to sue these corporations. This is fraud. Take back our money.

[@pibbitybibbity]

What they also don’t tell you is that the U.S. used to sell their recyclables (including the items that were actually recyclable) to China and India, where it would be burned or sometimes just dumped in the ocean. They stopped buying it from us years ago and everything you put in your blue bin or taken to a “recycling” center. It then goes straight to …a LANDFILL. It might be local, it might be regional, or it can be in another state, but that’s where ALL of it ends up.

[@KLondike5]

And I have to pay an extra $100 a year to fund this ballet before it's landfilled anyway.

[@Gertyutz]

Only the plastic is an issue. Everything else IS recycled.

[@pibbitybibbity]

@@Gertyutz You just keep on telling yourself that.

[@VermontLiving99]

Still waiting for someone to explain why it took the environmentalist, Democrats and Progressives so long to figure out that this was all B.S. Maybe because they were too busy passing laws, including recycling laws, that do little to nothing more than control how people live their lives.

[@elizabethchase6528]

@@KLondike5 ... And get nasty notes if one recyclable item is out of place

[@Rene-uz3eb]

If companies were held accountable for lying, in general, that would be a big step forward. A person can lie if they are not breaking laws (contracts say), but a company's lies are much more influental. They just need to be made to be responsible for collecting as much plastics as they produce, and store it, then we know it doesn't wind up in the ocean.

[@Maine-px5td]

while the media is lying to you and you yuck it up as the truth.

[@thinking7667]

I agree. So many of our issues is because we don't hold corporations as accountable as we should. If a small business invented a product and lied about it being able to be recycled when it couldn't, they would get sued for false advertising or something.

[@ReckerFidelWOLF]

can confirm. was a cart pusher at retail. when it came to change the recycle trash i asked management where do we put the recycled trash. they just said the compactor like everything else. still the recycled bottles go to the trash like everything else.

[@user-jc1hm3pv6i]

Thx 4 sharíng ur testímony. I remember watching a journalíst put a device like an aírtag in a recyclé bin in a star bux. Later found ít ín theír dumpster. Later learned that coffee cups r lined w plastíc & therefore r single use. Can goods r líned w plastíc too.

[@ChristianStout]

This is why "recycle" comes after "reduce, reuse..."

[@michaelfoxbrass]

Reducing personal consumption of plastics is the primary key - but because the number of consumers continue to increase, reuse follows. Recycling is never going to have the same impact as these two.

[@jaredgates4310]

We need a ban on single use plastics.

[@donaldcharbonneau3801]

Supposedly there’s a huge plastic island floating around out in the Pacific Ocean somewhere.

[@restezlameme]

It's called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Last I checked, it was about the size of Texas.

[@jokerace8227]

Not exactly an island, but yes, there is a concentration of plastic particles that float at a range of depths as well as at the surface in the oceanic gyres.

[@craigsimonson8078]

And breaks down into microscopic particles ingested by marine life to make its way back up the food chain. Your bloodstream includes plastic nanoparticles...

[@Gertyutz]

Look up "The Ocean Cleanup."

[@elizabethchase6528]

There's one of those in every ocean

[@SogMosee]

Even more scare than plastic pollution is microplastics, which have been found in bottled water, rice, and everything in between. We consume a credit card worth of plastic every week.

[@rirkc]

And this is why we find microplastics inside our bodies. Horrifying.

[@paulg6268]

Ironic to create PLASTIC recycling bins to sort PLASTIC that is not even recycled in the first place.

[@mikecandler4350]

Could we outlaw plastic containers and go back to glass or move to aluminum?

[@ds7675]

Our town won’t even take clear glass anymore.

[@Ian-nl9yd]

We ought to. Before plastic, you went to the store with your own containers and filled them with salt, flour or sugar and paid the grocer by weight. We can go back to that.

[@stellangios]

Aluminum is a finite resource. It's extremely recyclable but we can't just scale up its use as much as this would require without major consequences.

[@ds7675]

@@stellangios In other words big oil has us all by the b@lls!

[@Gertyutz]

@@Ian-nl9yd Maybe in rural areas. Before plastic, everything in metro areas came in glass.

[@Liam1694u]

This should be a massive lawsuit like we had against big tobacco. They tried to pass the buck to consumers for decades. Make the industry pay. This is just greed.

[@Emceepe]

I worked for a major grocery store chain, every single store has a bin for recycling plastic bags. Every company delivery driver had to pick up trash bags full of shopping bags to put in the distribution center’s dumpster rather than the store’s dumpster.

[@46ers337]

Thank you for reporting on this, honestly would have never known this without your story. THIS is one of many reasons why journalism is important!!!!

[@Gertyutz]

There are hundreds of videos on the same subject, if you want to search KZbin.

[@46ers337]

@@Gertyutz I’m sure there are, just saying that CBS This Morning covering it brings it to a wider audience

[@tomr9661]

A major part of the problem is that this story is buried on a Sunday morning where very few, if any people see it and where the oil/ plastic industry wants it. Why not air this dirty laundry on Prime time a few times

[@jasonz7788]

If the consumer wants a great Eco friendly start... QUIT buying bottled water!

[@r.claymccullough890]

Ever notice that on certain two liter pop bottles are the words: “See You Soon!”? It’s a lie and it’s infuriating!

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Marketing is everything. It's the most important thing to mankind, and without it, nothing could ever happen.

[@Maine-px5td]

You have issues if you are getting mad at plastic bottles.

[@gtheo3]

Compostable materials exist and should e required, at a bare minimum, for all food service/restaurant materials

[@ronnie10151]

And composting facilities easily available for the many that do not have home composting and for the compostable items that can’t go in a home compost

[@fredbradford5301]

I worked at a plastic injection factory. Melting even the smallest amount of certain different plastics can result in an explosion. I witnessed it.

[@Nanobits]

I worked many years ago at DOW and i can tell you, it is impossible to recycle all these plastic products because they are made of a complex series of compounds and to recycle those products would take a super expensive system that would have very little profit return.

[@Rickets1911]

Thanks for informing us 40 years later.

[@jpennin1]

Since recycling so far has not been viable, the focus should be on burning waste plastic for energy. Waste to energy facilities can utilize the waste plastic and turn it into electricity. These facilities can operate in a relatively clean way by scrubbing the emissions with filters. If recycling can be figured out, that would be better, but in the meantime, we shouldn't be burying plastic in the land or letting it get in our oceans.

[@BobClemintime]

We need to put a heavy tax on any single use plastics. The economics forces will force companies to switch to other materials or packaging methods in cases where plastic is not neccessary to the function of the item.

[@nansealove9000]

Thank you SO MUCH for this video! I have tried to explain this since the 1970s. We cannot wait for the plastics industry to become enlightened, we consumers must do our best to quit consuming toxic substances. We can vote with our dollars, if enough people don’t buy it, it is no longer profitable to produce. I personally have done my best to live a plastic-free life (and here in a rural environment that isn’t easy.) Plastic is from the toxic waste of the petroleum industry. They have fooled people into buying their waste product, making a profit selling it. They have convinced most people they cannot live without plastic. This isn’t true! As a 75 year old I remember when almost no plastic was used. An excellent book to learn why and how to live plastic-free is “Plastic Free, How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too” by Beth Terry. Also Lauren Singer has set an amazing example by producing less and a quarter of of waste in several years ( this easier in New York City where one can find stores that sell food items without packaging or packaged in BYO containers.)

[@lynncollier4615]

Using no plastic detergent bottles. Better?? It’s sad how we destroy our home.

[@HAL-9000x]

We switched back to powder in cardboard boxes. That way we’re also not just paying for water, like the liquid detergents.

[@RD3D-2]

Laundry sheets like from Earth Breeze is a good alternative to liquid detergents.

[@ds7675]

@@HAL-9000xAre those boxed ones still He ones? Thanks for any response.

[@ds7675]

@@RD3D-2 I’ve seen ads for those so do they really work? And cost effective?

[@ColoringKaria]

Honestly that’s one of the hardest ones! I’ve been trying for 15!😮 years to find a quality plastic free option The best solution I have so far is buying a getting a giant plastic (I know) bottle of blue dawn which is a great high quality product and refilling the small sink side bottle as needed. This doesn’t eliminate plastics but does greatly reduce it. (Blue dawn is also better at spot stain removal than tide sticks so save plastic and money and skip that. Just go to your kitchen get a drop of blue dawn and damp paper towel and let the magic work!) For dishwashers brands are making individual pods wrapped in dissolving soap. The famous brand ones all clean very good. And don’t use plastic Individual containers. There are companies like grove and blue land that sell plastic free household cleaners while blueland actually works the “lifetime” bottles are poorly designed and break. Grove products also work but the glass refill bottle have leaking issues I got tired of. Maybe they are better now but I decide to return to plastic for all propose cleaners.

[@reyrayo2502]

So who's accountable?!?! Why can't we see past this charade😢

[@HAL-9000x]

One of them is running to be elected as the president again. Same party that bankrolls socialism for corporations and capitalism for the rest of us. Hint: they want to make the country they deliberately destroyed for a quick buck great again apparently.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

The rich do what they wish. The poor can merely complain about it and do little else.

[@h_3_x_]

​@@Novastar.SaberCombat until we revolt

[@frozenwarning]

Recycling plastic is even more toxic than producing it in the first place. Very sad to learn that but I think it’s important to know. I think that we need to ban plastic frankly.

[@jack1d1XB]

Boy, TOXIC ☢️ you say, see what the ( Entrepreneurs) are doing in 3rd world countries and to their own people with Paving Slabs/Roof tiles etc etc, 😳🤯☠️

[@stellangios]

I'd love to hear what to replace plastics with. Because there's SO much they're needed for. Ban unnecessary plastic, sure, but every time I see someone arguing to get rid of plastic they basically say that whatever THEY don't need should be banned, and damn anyone who needs they stuff they scorn. Like, people often cite prepackaged cut vegetables and fruit and ignore that many disabled people rely on those products to have healthy food to eat.

[@frozenwarning]

Glass, wood, paper, metal

[@frozenwarning]

@@stellangios i’m curious your age… were you not alive in the world before plastic? We got by just fine.Lol. they’re not needed for anything! toothpaste, sunscreen came in metal tubes, Instead of plastic carton of milk or juice, , they were paper or glass, etc. it’s really sad that your generation has been convinced that there’s no alternative.

[@BAYBAY_316]

I work at a VERY large trash company in America and I can tell you first hand I see multiple truck loads each week of plastic bottles come to our landfill. The side of the truck says County Recycling. Makes me sad every time I see it but it is what it is.

[@elizabethchase6528]

That's what the landfill guy in my town says

[@BAYBAY_316]

@@elizabethchase6528 cause it's true. I was out and about today and saw one of the " recycling " dumpsters and I just shook my head.

[@noahhancock1015]

As a professional who works in the plastics industry, I would’ve really appreciated additional information as to WHY single stream recycling struggles to be successful and HOW the consumer can alter their recycling habits to make it a more successful process.

[@jessecarliner7733]

Locally we can only recycle type 1 & 2, but more than half the time it is nearly impossible to read the indicator so I end up throwing out items in the trash rather than contaminating the whole batch.

[@b-dub6865]

If some plastic can’t be recycled, then why are companies allowed to label them recyclable? Why didn’t they discuss that? Are we trying to create more anxiety & ratings or find a solution?

[@RustyFoundry]

It may technically be possible to recycle, but it’s economically not feasible. You have to look up what specific numbers your local recycling plant will accept.

[@fnregistration]

Because companies run this country.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Illusions MUST be maintained. If every marketing lie was exposed, global society would collapse.

[@b-dub6865]

@@fnregistration Right. Why didn’t they talk about that & possible solutions?

[@SpencerWilliamsIV]

At least Penn and Teller’s show gave some hope in recycling glass, while denouncing recycling of pretty much every other material.

[@paulapril]

Anyone old enough to remember when beverages came in glass bottles with the polystyrene label? 1980's early 90's. It tasted better back then.

[@econtrolable]

I remember milk being delivered to the house in glass bottles that were reused. I still have the milk box from 1964.

[@marychocolatefairy]

Glass also seems to make the drink last longer. I noticed that when a local juicing business changed its bottles from plastic to glass. There were some juices one would have to drink within a couple days, but now they last several days longer.

[@aawrnnc]

Wow! 😮 Thank you for exposing this issue. I did not know this. Sad. Not only are many of the things that I’m recycling not getting recycled like I was expecting, but I also hear that plastics can be damaging to the body.

[@msr1116]

I now get boxes with brown paper used for cushioning rather than plastic pillows or packing peanuts....I hated those. I once worked for two days in a polyethylene factory's front office and quit. The chemical stench permeated every inch of the building and I knew inhaling that air would eventually damage my health.

[@BlahBlah-em2ed]

The beverage companies contribute a ton to this problem.

[@The.Oracle.]

I wonder if the EPA can do anything about this? Never mind, the Supreme Court is in charge of the EPA now.

[@bongfuhrer]

There are at least 50 different kind of plastic (no one really knows for sure since the producers have secret recipes). Of these only 4 kinds are recyclable, a few times before the structure is none-recyclable.

[@SquawkingSnail]

Why won't these companies listen, we don't want their plastic anymore and we didn't ask for it in the first place. Stop using it to make things that go straight in the trash.

[@Gertyutz]

You would have to stop eating, buying medications, shampoo, soap, ....

[@SquawkingSnail]

@@Gertyutz it's crazy making that most of the plastic we use could be replaced with biodegradable alternatives that aren't used.

[@patriciagurwitz509]

Another case of Greed$😢 So much for global warming‼️Sad

[@lindsayminn9101]

Not enough people know that the Three Rs are in order. Reduce as much as possible, reuse when you can, recycle if necessary.

[@Earth1218]

I had no idea I’ve been lied to for the last few decades. I thought I was actually doing the right thing when cleaning, sorting, and taking my recycling to the curb. All of that time and energy wasted would have been better spent looking for plastic alternatives and low plastic/plastic free options. No wonder our world is turning into an open dump. I’ll be doing whatever I can to reduce the plastic I use from now on.

[@patrickkitson9293]

How about the headline, "world supposedly just catches on to what people who've been watching their labels have known for about 25 years"?

[@learningearning8385]

So what’s the 8% that gets recycled?

[@charlesarnette6472]

Extremely clean plastic that hasn't be contaminated.

[@chow-chihuang4903]

Mostly uncolored #1 (PETE) and #2 (HDPE) containers, with a small amount of #5 (PP). Labels or shrink sleeves that cover more than 25% of a container confuse automatic sorting equipment and cause otherwise desirable containers to be junked instead of recycled. You’re supposed to removed these before putting them in the recycling bin, but most people don’t and most brands don’t even bother with the ruse of placing this advice on their shrink sleeves or labels. I hate how brands choose these methods to decorate their bottles, fully knowing they’ve doomed them to the landfill, because they love being able to cheaply place branding over 100% of the container.

[@elizabethchase6528]

I think it's less than 1 %

[@SALESPRODUCTIONS]

CHINA stopped buying the plastics a few years back - because the economics didn't work - and at that point the bulk of the recycling ecosystem collapsed.

[@sarcasticnews1195]

yes but the "ecosystem" was largely a facade from the start

[@rysteph51008]

The masses are putting too much trust in corporations, letting them make product after product as we sit in our recliners and await the next flavor, style, or trend. We are ignorant little machines who are being mentally supressed while thinking we are in control of ourselves. No human needs anywhere near the amount of crap they purchase per year, yet they will make these impulse buys while complaining about price hikes from the very same big corporations that have us hooked!

[@derrickscott9469]

I'm a janitor at a large factory. Where I work, those blue recycle bins mean nothing. Maybe it's good for morale to make people think they're recycling. But it all ends up in the same dumpsters as regular garbage.

[@framwinkle]

This report only goes half way. The followup needs to ask, "What are the alternatives?" If you ban plastic, do you go back to glass? That might work for some limited product packaging, but its not going to work for everything. Plastic is insanely useful, and has made our lives betting in uncountable ways. We really just need to figure out what to do with it when it's no longer needed. Personally, I think it would make a great source of fuel. And yes, it can be burned cleanly. If they can do it with coal, there's no reason it can't be done with plastic.

[@seededsoul]

What?? There is no such thing as clean coal. It is scams all the way down.

[@roxannefebuary6823]

Glass is the answer.

[@D.E.P.-J.]

Most glass isn't recycled either, but it's better nonetheless.

[@betterjustice6697]

They need to be sued for all damages.

[@moniqueengleman873]

Thank you for bringing this forward. I have been furious for years about this issue. We PAY in every grocery store but NEVER get our CRV back. Stores used to take them back and pay you back the cost. Now they want to "fine" us for not recycling. 😡

[@vjrei]

I used to work at the Hyatt hotel, they have recycle bins and at the end of the day they are collected as normal trash and place in the same dumpster. If you take a look, there are not special recycling trucks anywhere. All those bins you see all over are a lie, they all are collected as trash.

[@Psyclonus7]

That's a lie. Where I live, 3 trucks roll through on trash day. One for trash, one for lawn/grass clippings, one for recycling

[@JoeOvercoat]

⁠@@Psyclonus7Which Hyatt do you live at?

[@sarcasticnews1195]

@@Psyclonus7 Even if you have a truck which picks up your recycling bin, it doesn't mean that the recycling isn't predominantly dumped in with all the other trash - because it is. Companies don't care about you / us and they definitely don't care about your / our recycling. That's the ugly reality. If you don't believe it, it's time to wake up. They want you to think that your recycling is recycled so that you continue to consume without hesitation.

[@elizabethchase6528]

@@Psyclonus7 then it all goes to the landfill

[@opensky1710]

It might be hard to believe, but in Japan, the recycling rate for plastic bottles is 88% in 2022.

[@OhJodi69]

That only means that people are diligently putting their plastics in the recycling bins. Most of that plastic will never be recycled. Much of it is contaminated with other solids, liquids, and plastics. After sorting, the contaminated bottles are sent to some impoverished Asian country, where it is burned, causing toxic black tarry smoke and soot.

[@hojichaisfarsuperiortochai9309]

My husband’s train line in Tokyo advertises that their uniforms are made from recycled drink bottles. I’ve heard grumblings that their recycling isn’t quite up to expectations it is still far better than in the US.

[@Gertyutz]

@@OhJodi69 No, Japan turns them into fuel using pyrolysis.

[@thewheeliain]

​@@hojichaisfarsuperiortochai9309The only downside I know of this is that once you recycle it, it cannot be recycled. Those plastic clothes become microplastics at the end of their life.k

[@hojichaisfarsuperiortochai9309]

@@thewheeliain that’s a bummer.

[@wwesuperstar1100]

Pretty incredible that this is barely catching on. I been to many landfills over the and see all trash go into the same container. Even some recycling centers.

[@LesaBear612]

I am appalled at all the plastic water bottles I see. People buying cases and cases of water that is unhealthy. Tap water is fine. If you don’t like the taste, buy a filter.

[@Cobra3901]

Costs too much to recycle plastic…cheaper to make new plastic so it doesn’t get recycled. 🙄. I wish they could make corn/soy/sugar based products cheaper. At least it breaks down faster than petroleum based products. Costs too much so it doesn’t get used.

[@Yosef9438]

You so desperately want to use your plastics that you think we should be making them from food? Weird take.

[@ck4797]

I threw everything in the trash and I'm at peace with it

[@joekev27]

I was pretty surprised when I told me family they can't throw pizza boxes in the recycling and they had abesoultely no clue that was a thing.

[@roachtoasties]

So the 5 or 10 cents we get back for recycling a plastic bottle is a scam? Then what's the point of charging a deposit, bringing the bottle back to a recycling center for some money, if it just ends up in a landfill?

[@elizabethchase6528]

It makes people think they're going to heaven

[@captainnima]

I stopped recycling over a year ago. I realized their disgusting lies. I dump everything in landfills now. At least, I am hoping it won’t make it to the oceans.

[@diahegge5395]

It’s better in a landfill

[@arcticsong]

It’ll still make it to the oceans, at least some of it. You’re better off switching to plastic free products and reducing your waste.

[@aardeng]

Not so much fraud as it is people just being ignorant of the system. This is all common knowledge

[@stellangios]

It is fraud when the companies mislead the public to keep people ignorant. YOU think it's "common knowledge" but just b/c you and those around you know something doesn't mean everyone else does. This is a common mental bias called "the curse of knowledge." Also your statement is contradictory: how can so many people be ignorant of "common" knowledge? People like you like to show off how smart you are in a way that lets lying companies off the hook. They must love it. Someday they'll blame the public for believing their lies.

[@sarcasticnews1195]

Yeah, it's not common knowledge if it's not commonly known, which it's not, so it's not common knowledge. And it's not so much ignorance of the system as it is systemic and widespread industrial-scale propaganda and misinformation, IE lies, which is basically fraud. To quote GPT "Absolutely, corporate misinformation can indeed be considered a form of fraud, especially when it comes to significant public impact like the misinformation propagated by the plastic industry. When corporations like those in the plastic industry create the illusion that their products are recyclable, despite knowing that most of the plastic doesn’t actually get recycled, it can be viewed as a deliberate act of deception. Legally speaking, fraud involves intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain. If a company knowingly spreads false information to make their products appear more environmentally friendly, they could be liable for fraud. This misinformation can lead consumers to make purchasing decisions based on incorrect assumptions, which directly benefits the corporation financially while misleading the public about the environmental impact. The case of the plastic industry is a prime example. Many companies have promoted the idea that plastic is easily recyclable, even though the infrastructure for recycling plastic is insufficient and the recycling rates are dismally low. This misrepresentation shifts the responsibility onto consumers, making them feel responsible for the waste, while the companies continue to produce massive amounts of plastic without significant consequences. Various lawsuits and investigations have targeted companies for greenwashing, a form of misinformation where a company falsely advertises their products as environmentally friendly. These legal actions aim to hold corporations accountable for their deceptive practices and can be seen as steps towards addressing such fraud."

[@stevegonzales527]

This was known and people thought people who explained this were crazy 😂

[@firstname__lastname]

So what’s the alternative then?! Besides limiting your use of single use plastics and taking your own grocery bags to the store?!!!

[@user-jc1hm3pv6i]

Isn't fast fashíon & polyéster a contríbuter too ?

[@tursiopsgirl8]

ABSOLUTELY! I do my best to buy natural fibers for as much of my clothing as possible.

[@CDumke]

I remember when I was a kid in 90's on vacation in Tunesia (north affrica) getting served a cold CocaCola in a bottle, and I was like..."this is so cool". You could see the glas was recycled couple times...now today CocaCola is the largest plastic waste producer globally and those north africa lands ain't having the opertunity to recycle any of those plastic bottles and slowly drown in the plastic waste. 😔

[@Hexnilium]

0:59 The report should have let her give specific examples of what isn't recyclable and why.

[@thanhquanky]

Just make the plastic producer pay upfront and refund them when they recycle it. This will give them incentive to make sure it is recyclable

[@michaelmorrissey1052]

They will simply pass the cost on to the consumer.

[@thanhquanky]

@@michaelmorrissey1052 capitalism will take care of it. some other producers will make it cheaper by actual recycling. It may not completely solve the problem but at least shift the issue towards a greener equilibrium

[@WadeMcLure]

All my plastic goes in the garbage now, if the garbage is full then I'll put it in the blue bin for them to throw it away for me... Sick of wasting my time sorting this crap, so I'm not doing it anymore.

[@Gertyutz]

Only the plastic is an issue. Everything else IS recycled.

[@greggy553]

Recycling is bad for the environment, and a waste of energy.

[@lolalola1352]

Thank you for spreading the truth. We need change

[@Psyclonus7]

So...what am I supposed to do? Throw plastic in the trash now?

[@Gertyutz]

I put only #1 and #2 in the recycle bin, trash the other numbers, and re-use plastic bags for garbage.

[@oceanwoods]

Recycling (propaganda) Is Real

[@BlatantThrowAway]

I love all the microplastics in my body. It makes me feel warm inside.

[@MithradatesVIEupator]

I’m 34 now. Have known about this since I was 16.

[@ColoringKaria]

Stop buying unneeded plastic. It’s just that simple. Bring your own cups and straws (most coffee shops offer a discount for this) Bring your own bag to the grocery store (don’t buy any. Just ask anyone you know in New Jersey they have tons literally) Avoid plastic toys for children and opt for wood and other materials. I understand that when traveling or in areas with unsafe water water bottles may be a necessity but in most of America the water is safe enough to Brita/filter and drink. Indeed MOST bottled water is filtered municipal tap water. Pathwater sells inexpensive all metal bottled water that will be recycled (most metal is recycled once it enters the recycling system). I replace mine every 4-8 weeks depending so a case of 9 can last a whole year! It ships in plastic free 100% recycle bottles. Also if your local grocery store has them they might be cheaper there than shipped to your home. Plastics for the time being are needed for medical and some personal use item. But even padded shipping envelopes can made of paper that is recycled/recyclable.

[@mikeshafer]

Why can't we find a renewable, ecofriendly alternative to plastics?

[@Gertyutz]

They're working at making plastic from seaweed, but it's not on the market yet.

[@mikeshafer]

@@Gertyutz hemp too !

[@user-jc1hm3pv6i]

Hémp. But the bíble belt is convinced íts the devíls lettuce. Hémp has thousands of uses, even alternatíve fuel.

[@mikeshafer]

@@user-jc1hm3pv6i yes it does. Fortunately the Bible Belt can’t stay in ignorance forever.

[@xdibblerx]

I was at a function at a major university and they had five separate bins for each type of material. I was a bit confused as to which bin would get what. An employee came up and quietly told me to just put them in which ever bin I wanted because they all get dumped into the same dumpster. Made my choices a lot easier. :)

[@purberri]

Everything I’ve read about recycling only the PET bottles are recycled. So why does my community allow containers rated 1-5 picked up as recycle? It’s a sales pitch-

[@davebauer3756]

That and a lot of union jobs picking out 1-5. It's all about money. It's always about money. Everything bad that is human-made on this planet boils down to greed.

[@O-cDxA]

Your show offers no SOLUTIONS to the problem. As a result, I think many viewers will just be like " F - it ! I quit !", and just keep buying plastics instead of thinking of solutions, such as using laundry detergent that comes in powder form in a cardboard box. Or water bottles that you use more than once made from metal. ( You get the large returnable plastic jugs that actually get returned and reused at the store ) Passing up things like peanut butter in a plastic container for one in glass. And so on. It is inconvenient. Yes. But it DOES SOMETHING to fix the problem. -Thank you

[@lilywondertwin]

Stop using plastic use hemp

[@michaelboguski4743]

Remember the line from the movie The Graduate, said to Dustin Hoffman's character Benjamin right after he graduated from college.

[@CaptainDave05]

I’ve always expected the ‘recycling surcharge’ my local garbage company charges me is to throw away the plastics I’ve carefully sorted. Shame on industry for selling the dream of recycling but not delivering.

[@lamars2486]

B I G O I L ... again 😮

[@scottshamblin1962]

💥 Why not use 💥 H E M P H E M P H E M P H E M P H E M P H E M P 💥 NOT PLASTIC !💥