50y ago they knew #plastic can’t be recycled.
Cite: https://www.desmog.com/2025/08/05/maddening-proof-plastics-industry-knew-recycling-was-false-solution-in-1974-new-document-shows/
Fossil fuels are used to produce 98 percent of the world’s plastics, each variety with its own chemical composition that prevents different types of plastics from being recycled together. Possible markets exist only for a small number of recycled plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. The cost of sorting and separating plastics, the addition of chemical additives and colorants, and contamination during the recycling process further limits recyclability. Plastic also degrades with the recycling process, leaching toxic substances that make it unsuitable for many reuses, such as food packaging.
“Best case you’re talking about is one or two cycles of recycling before that original plastic cannot be recycled again into a viable product,” said Boyle. “That’s not recycling in a long-term way, that’s not a circular economy. That’s a cul-de-sac on the way to waste.”