Originally published at: When Is ‘Recyclable’ Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means. - TPM – Talking Points Memo
This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Is there anything more pathetic than a used plastic bag? They rip and tear. They float away in the slightest breeze. Left in the wild, their…
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Excellent article. And how do we stop this misleading advertising? How do ordinary people weigh in with the FTC, when we don’t have the lobbyists and dollars of these huge corporations?
Why not put more of the burden on corporations to reduce use of plastics? Laundry detergent doesn’t have to come in those honking big bottles, for instance. I use laundry detergent sheets, which you can’t buy in stores (IIRC). They come in a recyclable cardboard holder, and my understanding is that paper-based products DO recycle, or at least biodegrade.
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There currently don’t seem to be many national level politicians in this country brave enough to take plastic bags out of the pollution stream.
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Does the FTC even allow public comments on this? There are a lot of products that have that circling arrow that in reality does not get recycled.
And many recycling centers are overloaded with the truly recyclable products. No one wants the plastic because it is very expensive to melt or break down to a product that can be used. Just because it can be melted does not mean it can be made into something else that is usable.
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