Reduce, reuse and recycle. We have heard this mantra many times. And the message is clear, continue consuming, and you can consume relatively guilt free, just recycle that old shampoo bottle and it will ultimately become part of someone’s tennis shoe or maybe new kid’s toy. An amazing feat, and what we know now, an amazing lie.
For more years than I can remember, I would look at the bottom of all the plastic bottles before throwing them away for the recycling numbers, and I would sort my trash like a good citizen. Of course, paying extra for the recycling containers, to guarantee that the plastic containers would be correctly processed and recycled.
But the public was lied to by: the makers of plastic, i.e. the nation’s largest oil and gas companies. The truth is the majority of plastics cannot be recycled, and the plastic industry knew it.
The big plastic producers were aware from the beginning that recycling would not keep plastics out of the landfills. And yet the industry spent millions telling people to recycle, because, selling recycling sold plastic, even if it wasn't true.
And because there is no cheap way to recycle plastics more than 90% of plastics get dumped or incinerated (Cite: Landmark 2017 study published in the journal Science Advances) despite the recent emergence of recycling projects.
Not only is plastic garbage filling landfills, it is contributing to global warming because plastics are made from fossil fuels. Although, the push for electric vehicles has been gaining traction in response to global warming, the production of plastics has only increased which industry analysts forecast will double by 2040.
Lawmakers of this country have managed to spend at least $500 million in public funds since 2017 on 51 U.S. advanced recycling projects, sourced from report from Greenpeace, but it seems our greatest idea may be to hedge our bets and bet on nature to find a solution to our ever mounting garbage problem. Scientists have discovered plastic eating worms that may save day yet. Like the great Mr. Jeff Goldblum said, “Nature finds a way”.
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Approximately 9 billion tons of plastic has been produced since 1950. And only 9% of plastics have ever been recycled. There is certainly cause for alarm, and it is time for the public to demand legislation and punishment for those that continue to knowingly deceive the public and pollute the world. Contact the attorneys at LifeBackLaw and see us at www.LifeBackLaw.com and let us help you get your life back.
