Companies knew for decades recycling was not viable but promoted it regardless, Center for Climate Integrity study finds

Plastic producers have known for more than 30 years that recycling is not an economically or technically feasible plastic waste management solution. That has not stopped them from promoting it, according to a new report.

“The companies lied,” said Richard Wiles, president of fossil-fuel accountability advocacy group the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), which published the report. “It’s time to hold them accountable for the damage they’ve caused.”

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldEnglish
    27·
    10 months ago

    Really. For the vast majority of packaging, what the fuck was wrong with just using cardboard? Even if 99.99999999% of the stuff winds up in a landfill, at least cardboard is theoretically renewable and will biodegrade in less than a thousand lifetimes.

    • R0cket_M00se@lemmy.worldEnglish
      34·
      10 months ago

      Cardboard and paper bags went out of style because of the “save the rainforest” narrative. Even though most paper products are made from trees specifically grown to be harvested for their wood.

      That’s why we started using plastic bags at grocery stores, remember?

      • linearchaos@lemmy.worldEnglish
        17·
        10 months ago

        That was what they told us. The reason they actually did it was because they were giving us the bags and they cost a nickel. where plastic bags cost them 5 for a penny.

      • Rin@lemm.eeEnglish
        8·
        10 months ago

        Hemp is very versatile and can be used to make similar paper products while growing at a much faster rate, which potentially makes it a good replacement. The association with marijuana is part of what prevented it from catching on though.

          • Rin@lemm.eeEnglish
            2·
            10 months ago

            …like lumber doesnt take far more effort per harvest, as well as take longer to grow?

        • R0cket_M00se@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          10 months ago

          Mostly it was the paper and textile industries lobbying against cannabis so that the superior products that can be made with hemp were illegal and didn’t stand in the way of their infrastructure and market segment.

          That alone probably fueled the drug war against it as much as the government using it to crack down on any minority they could illustrate as using it more often.

      • Whippygoatcream@reddthat.comEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        So what about samples (amongst other parts of the entire process) for food-grade products from the manufacturer? I work at a corn syrup manufacturing plant, and there’s no way you can ship corn syrup in cardboard. You would get mold, easily.

        • acetanilide@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          10 months ago

          I think it’d be very easy to use plastic when we actually need it, and other materials for everything else.

          Unfortunately businesses and stockholders disagree.