If plastic is SO bad, why is not being recycled?
About less than 10% of the roughly 300 million tons of new plastic produced annually is recycled. So what is preventing us from recycling more?
This article explains that "due to the material properties of plastics, not all can be recycled. About 90% of global plastic production are thermoplastics that can be melted and molded over and over to produce new plastics, which in theory makes all thermoplastics recyclable. The leftover 10% of the global plastic production are thermoset plastics which when exposed to heat instead of melting, are combusting, making them impossible to recycle." Some examples of these types of plastics are ropes and belts.
Since a majority of plastics produced are not recyclable, it is more to remember that the important solution is to produce and consume less plastics.
Read more about the challenge of plastic waste here: Why Is Most Plastic Not Recycled?