Trash stats on recycling finally got to me

I always thought recycling was basically a done deal, but I read that only about 9% of plastic actually gets recycled globally. That stat from National Geographic last month hit me hard, and now I'm just trying to cut down on single-use stuff instead. Anyone else rethink their habits after seeing hard numbers like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

sagep192mo ago

Man, that 9% number really hits different when you realize how many plastic bottles you've tossed in the blue bin over the years thinking you were doing good. I swear my recycling bin is basically a feel-good museum for my guilt at this point. Got me eyeballing my own trash habits and feeling like a clown for not looking this up sooner. How does a guy even start unwinding years of lazy convenience without going full hermit mode?

the_sam2mo ago

Yeah @sagep19 that 9% stat really stings doesn't it.

norag6617d ago

Oh man, I just read something about this the other day that blew my mind. Apparently a lot of those plastic bottles we toss in the recycling end up getting shipped overseas to countries that don't even have proper recycling facilities. So they just sit in giant piles or get burned. Makes you wonder what the point even is. I get what you mean about the guilt, but don't beat yourself up too much. We were all told that blue bin was the fix. The real problem is companies making all this stuff in non recyclable packaging, not us trying to do the right thing with bad info.