For decades, recycling has been championed by businesses and environmental groups alike as a critical way to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and the oceans.
Compared to materials like metal, paper and glass, plastics are much more complicated and less economical to recycle. They come in a wide variety of chemical compositions — some that can’t be processed at most recycling facilities and others that can’t be recycled at all. But even when recyclable plastics make their way to places that have the capacity to repurpose them, those items often still end up in landfills.
Third, the recycling process itself is environmentally harmful, exposing workers to toxic chemicals and itself generating microplastics. Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said Thursday that his office has subpoenaed Exxon Mobil Corp. seeking information related to the company’s “historic and ongoing efforts” to minimize the public’s understanding of the harmful consequences of plastic.
In my metro area of Seattle there is a very limited amount of things that are actually recycled. The amount of things put into the recycling is quite large I heard from somebody whose friend works at the recycling plant that's 6-9% or so is recyclable.