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.]

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[TheVitamin]

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.

[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.

[tiger]

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.

[Liamu]

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.

[kellysonnenberg]

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

[likethiscomment.]

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

[MilePost]

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!

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

Don't rely on recycling. Focus on reducing.

[rirkc]

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

[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?

[virginiaf.]

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.

[smitastic]

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.

[EdmondsSingingTeacher]

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!

[swannman]

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

[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.

[ChristianStout]

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

[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.

[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.

[noahhancock]

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.

[miguelmaravilla]

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