The Myth of Plastic Recycling

You consume (as in eat), on average, a credit card's worth of plastic every week. We all do, because plastic is everywhere. It's in our food, our water, the air that we breathe, it's in the top soil, it's in our pets, it's in our blood. The idea that plastic can be meaningfully recycled is a lie, and the industry has known it's a lie for 50 years. Where does it go? To landfills, waterways, and incinerators, before making its way back into our bodies in the form of microplastics.

Sources

Our World in Data: Plastic Production

Critics call out plastics industry over "fraud of plastic recycling"

The Fraud of Plastic Recycling

Creating a throw-away culture: How companies ingrained plastics in modern life

Why most plastic can’t be recycled

Only 5% of plastic in the U.S. is recyclable. What should you do with the rest?

The Age of Plastic: From Parkesine to pollution

Microplastics are in our bodies. Here’s why we don’t know the health risks

Microplastics have been found in the human bloodstream

Plastic ingestion by people could be equating to a credit card a week

Plastic junk? Researchers find tiny particles in men's testicles

A first overview of textile fibers, including microplastics, in indoor and outdoor environments

Plastic contamination in agricultural soils: a review

Exposure of U.S. adults to microplastics from commonly-consumed proteins

Micro- and nano-plastics in edible fruit and vegetables. The first diet risks assessment for the general population

Uptake and Accumulation of Nano/Microplastics in Plants: A Critical Review

Breathing Plastic: The Health Impacts of Invisible Plastics in the Air

[ObscureDraws]

Do you remember when they switched from paper grocery bags to plastic bags because plastic was more environmentally friendly?

[paulstables]

Ah a good old existential crisis on a Friday.

[PODDEAD]

A CREDIT CARD A WEEK?! that cant be right, what about the 3 credit cards I ate today alone

[kevinmcqueenie]

But at least rich companies made a pot of money, so, there’s that.

[deathface]

Nothing in my life has black pilled me more than when I learned about the reality of plastic recycling

[SpychoMD]

I've read that of 4800 tons of microplastic produced every years in my country, 3600 comes from tires and road markings slowly eroded away into the environment.
the next big part is coming from construction materials or even some building paint.
plastic are used for so many things, it is like every single object we can own is part of the problem.

[oldladyhater]

"Here's some of the worst, most existentially terrifying news out there. Don't let it get you down, though!"

[blujaebird]

Delicious. Thank you Georg, I needed some more bleakness this morning.

[WelfareChrist]

The line about us consuming a credit card of plastic is actually from a paper that says we consume “up to” a credit card worth of plastic a week. A credit card is about 5 grams and we consume between 0.1 to 5 grams of plastic a week, which is a very different claim. It’s from a study published by the Journal of Hazardous Materials, should be easy to find online.

[Modicto]

When I first learned about the little numbers in the triangle logo, I immediately realized this is a scam. Additional differences in chemical composition aside, the practical impossibility of separating these pieces of waste into their respective groups just makes the whole thing a non-starter, with today's applied technology at least.

[drunkvegangal]

Fleece clothing made with recycled plastic bottles, etc. I bought a warm top to use when camping - come to find that each time recycled plastic bottle clothing is washed (by hand or machine), micro-plastic fibers are released into our waterways and earth.

[ilyatsukanov]

Plastics were virtually unknown in the USSR for single-use goods. For food mostly paper and glass were used - and you would get a bit of money back for returning the glass. Some people, particularly in the liberal intelligentsia, suggested we didn't have fancy plastic packaging because we were poor and backward, and some even collected the empty packaging from Western goods brought back from abroad (i.e. literally trash) on their shelves. Looking back at the absurdity of it all reminds me of the Indians who traded their land away for some beads.

[TheAustinWoolShow]

This man just gave me some existential dread on my birthday. Thank you George.

[xtiphuny]

I appreciate that you can make these super informative videos with depressing but important news and still put in little goofs that make me chuckle almost every single time. You are a global treasure, sir. I thank you 🙏

[tropezando]

This is why I try not to to-go buy drinks at places that won't let me use my own cup. That's one of the biggest sources of plastic waste in my home. Some coffee shop type places are okay, but some will make the drink in a plastic cup and pour it into mine, then toss the plastic cup, defeating the purpose. Gas stations always charge me for the largest size, even if I have a cup that is smaller, because my cup is insulated and looks bigger than it is. Fast food ignores me and gives me a plastic cup even if I go in because their policy is strict.

I've been trying to switch to reusable bags as well, even though they get me harrassed for my receipt and the "loss prevention" guard rifles through my bags when I try to leave at every non-Aldi store. It would really help if businesses were less hostile to people trying to be environmentally friendly.

[goldensloth]

ohhh i was so upset when i found out about this. i'd recycled assiduously since i was a kid. dissa-POINTING

[BrickGriff]

A big reason why "at least right now it would be difficult to substitute other materials for medical devices and supplies" is due to the sunk cost of the current production process, not due to the inherent superiority of plastics over, say, polymers made of bamboo, hemp, seaweed, or fungus.

[droopy_eyes]

I remember when after soviet block fell, 1991-1995, almost all drinks and brands were sold in either glass bottles or plastic lined cartons.
Gradually, the concept that plastic is safe, durable, modern, and standard for westerners and theirs "better" society compared to post-soviet region grew in.
Now everything is labeled "remember to recycle".
Huge plastic, mostly single use, wrappings or containers are labeled "be ECO! recycle", "reduce your carbon and plastic footprints!", "go green! recycle this plastic container!" -why is this mess still pushed on the consumer, when there's no alternative?

[csours]

Here's the thing. Plastics ARE Miraculous!
Here's the problem. Every Miracle is also a curse.

[cycleistic]

Thanks Georg! I only follow you because of this type of content and think on the same lines pretty much. "It's the consumers who decide, consumer is the king" - being as misinformed as we are, so no we don't. We consumers are marionettes of the markets, some less, some more, but we're all lead by the marketing by industry and commerce.