The Plastic Industry’s Fight to Keep Polluting the World

“A Bag’s Life is just one small part of a massive, industry-led effort now underway to suppress meaningful efforts to reduce plastic waste while keeping the idea of recycling alive. The reality of plastics recycling? It’s pretty much already dead. In 2015, the U.S. recycled about 9 percent of its plastic waste, and since then the number has dropped even lower. The vast majority of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic ever produced — 79 percent — has ended up in landfills or scattered all around the world. And as for those plastic shopping bags the kids were hoping to contain: Less than 1 percent of the tens of billions of plastic bags used in the U.S. each year are recycled…

…A 2018 study found that 93 percent of bottled water samples contained microplastics. While all the big brands tested positive for microplastics, the worst was Nestlé Pure Life, which claims that its water ‘goes through a 12-step quality process, so you can trust every drop.’…

…One study found that half of recycled plastics in India contained a flame retardant associated with neurological, reproductive, and developmental harms.”

—Sharon Lerner, “The Plastic Industry’s Fight to Keep Polluting the World.” The Intercept. July 20, 2019.

You know, in case you need a little nightmare fuel.