Can we talk about how plastic recycling labels are basically a lie?

I was sorting my trash last Tuesday and actually looked at the bottom of a yogurt container. It had that chasing arrows symbol with a 5 inside, and I thought oh good this can be recycled. But when I checked my city's recycling guide, number 5 plastics aren't accepted here at all. So that little triangle is basically just marketing to make us feel better about buying plastic. Has anyone else dug into what their local facility actually takes?

3 comments

3 Comments

susanb3414d ago

Have you ever tried calling your local recycling center to ask what they actually do with those plastics? I did that a few months ago and the guy basically laughed at me. He said even if they accept number 1 and 2 plastics, half the time the bales get rejected because of food residue or the wrong colors. The whole system is a mess, it's like we're all sorting trash for nothing while the companies that make the stuff just keep pumping it out with those fake labels.

the_taylor14d agoProlific Poster

Did you see that thing online about how most plastic recyclables just get stockpiled in warehouses... @susanb34?

marywilson13d ago

Switched to composting my kitchen scraps instead, way less hassle and actually useful.