Plastic recycling is a corporate myth. Industry produced 400 million tons of plastic in 2022 & just 9.5% (38 million tons) came from recycled plastic. The rest--362 million tons--came from fossil fuels, predominantly coal and oil. www.nature.com/articles/s43... - ThreadSky

richardconniff.bsky.social • 3 days ago

Plastic recycling is a corporate myth. Industry produced 400 million tons of plastic in 2022 & just 9.5% (38 million tons) came from recycled plastic. The rest--362 million tons--came from fossil fuels, predominantly coal and oil. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02169-5

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a-dash.bsky.social•2 days ago

Its so gross that even though we can make bioplastic from algae in order to clean water the billionaires are forcing industry to remain dependent on coal mining.

kaiahk.bsky.social•2 days ago

Ah yes. See #BrightGreenLies

ljdr48.bsky.social•2 days ago

Maybe a $1 levy at the cash register for each and every food or beverage container, including food tray plastic wrapped items - glass, plastic, cardboard (everything) that is sold at every business (including fast food). These containers can be returned to recycling centres for customer refund.

richardconniff.bsky.social•23 hours ago

In case you are wondering where it ends up: Lab finds equivalent of 5 bottle caps, or 1 plastic spoon, in human brain. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/well/microplastics-health.html?smid=url-share&unlocked_article_code=1.-E4.SXOe.mreg5unLSDNj&utm_medium=email&utm_source=substack

etche.bsky.social•22 hours ago

I am always shocked and dismayed at how much, and in what forms, there is on even remote beaches and mountains, far from all human habitations.

boogernail.bsky.social•2 days ago

💯

cdnhelp.bsky.social•3 days ago

And there in lies the rub. There is little or no incentives by anyone to reduce or eliminate plastics from our society. The reason? O&G owns governments and this is bad for business. But the people can make change by following the 3 r’s. Reuse, recycle and repurpose. People power👍👍👍👍🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦💪💪💪🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇨🇦💪

richardconniff.bsky.social•3 days ago

And just stop buying the stuff.

cdnhelp.bsky.social•3 days ago

Your absolutely right. When I was growing up we recycled everything. Milk was in bottles. Cans were berry picking tools or street toys. Meats were wrapped in paper and bags were paper. Scraps were composted. We have lost that part of life and just whine about the cost. Just crazy. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦💪💪💪🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇨🇦

cdnhelp.bsky.social•3 days ago

Well it really got me going with all of this aluminum BS and whining about beer cans. We never had beer cans, we had bottles that were also recycled. Maybe the only aluminum were in beer kegs behind a bar. So in reality we have created our own mess and added more cost and we whine. Go figure

chrisw2025.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's sickening!!! I recycle plastic,aluminum,tin,glass and paper...saves on trash....recycle and reuse!!

richardconniff.bsky.social•2 days ago

And stop buying plastic, because recycling it is a delusion.

blueskypja.bsky.social•2 days ago

Since everything has to change- let’s start changing everything. Glass is recyclable. Milk still comes in coated cardboard- We need to not invest in bioplastics that actually don’t breakdown though- here’s a bioplastic from wood pulp that does break down, for example https://energy.umd.edu/release/plastic-alternative-made-100-of-wood

someguyinaden.bsky.social•2 days ago

Oh look, there is some sand on the astroturf beach.

happylecinq.bsky.social•2 days ago

It’s an extraordinary blight on humanity that we still use plastic to the extent we do, the US uses 17 million barrels of oil to feed its plastic industry!!

richardconniff.bsky.social•2 days ago

I always want a good URL for a stat like that. Is it in the Nature article?

happylecinq.bsky.social•2 days ago

Could have been can’t quite remember, but the volume of oil used is an unforgettable stat

jmcunx.bsky.social•2 days ago

This has been true since around 2017 or so.

From what I remember, China use to take US plastic and recycle it, which is an expensive task. But Trump placed Tariffs on China during his first term and China stopped accepting US Plastic.

So US plastic then started going to landfills and the oceans.

auntiemamelives.bsky.social•2 days ago

And science has the beginnings of an answer, so let's not destroy science, okay?

lovekaupo.bsky.social•3 days ago

Let’s eat the rich AFTER we make them eat the plastic.

crudster.bsky.social•2 days ago

Unfortunately corporate responsibility is minimal. Consumers need to demand recycled product

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