The truth behind recycling plastic – it didn’t, doesn’t, and will never work

Although some materials can be effectively recycled, plastic cannot. And here’s why. The problem with recycling plastic lies not with the concept or process, but with the material itself. There are thousands of different plastics; each of them with its own composition and characteristics. Apart from that, it includes numerous chemical additives and colourants that cannot be recycled together, therefore, making impossible the selection of trillions of pieces into separate types for processing. Buying just one fast-food meal involves many types of single-use plastic, including PET#1, HDPE#2, LDPE#4, PP#5, and PS#6 cups, lids, clamshells, trays, bags, and cutlery – none of them should be blended simultaneously. 

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