The Truth About Plastic
A deep dive into why we only recycle 5% of our plastic trash
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Good morning,
Our favorite story of the week: Is this a real bear or a human in a suit? This Chinese zoo insists it’s really a bear, but you be the judge.
And in other news: Look out for Donald Trump’s arraignment, scheduled for 4pm ET today. He’s expected to plead not guilty on charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
We’ll have all the latest developments on our Instagram account.
Have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney
🎙The Mo News Podcast: Talking about what to expect at today’s Trump arraignment, a Chinese plan to strictly limit screen time for kids; and the Mo News community weighs in on the bear debate.
🗞 THE TRUTH ABOUT PLASTICS
Ok, not THOSE plastics from Mean Girls (but we couldn’t resist).
We want to talk about plastic— and how little of it actually gets recycled. The renewed discussion comes as the EPA now says the "chasing arrows" logo, which is universally recognized as a sign to recycle, should be replaced because it’s deceptive and misleading.
That’s because, according to a new study, only about five percent of plastic is actually recyclable. The vast majority ends up in landfills.
BUT, WHAT ABOUT THOSE RECYCLING ARROWS?
If you’ve ever looked closely at the chasing arrows logo on items you buy, you’ll notice that there’s a small number inside of it. It’s called a resin identification code, or RIC.
Kate O'Neill, a professor at University of California Berkeley, tells CBS News, "The numbers were to communicate to people sorting the plastics, how recyclable they are on a scale from 1 to 7.”
1 and 2 are for the hard plastics found in things like containers and bottles and are easier to recycle.
3 through 7 are for items that are basically impossible, and/or not cost-effective to recycle.
“WISHCYCLING”
The problem with the chasing arrows symbol is that it sends a message to consumers that everything with the arrow is recyclable— which is a myth.
It led to what’s called “wishcycling,” or putting stuff in the recycling because you wish, or hope, it can be recycled.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The EPA wants to replace the chasing arrows symbol with a simple triangle with the resin code inside, meant solely for the professionals who sort plastic, and not for the consumer.
BEYOND THE SYMBOL
Now to the question of what happens to the other 95% of plastic that doesn’t get recycled, and why we seem to think that recycling is the answer to our endless plastic consumption.
The world produces about 400 million tons of plastic every year.
In the U.S., less than 6% of that waste gets recycled.
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The vast majority of the waste ends up in landfills, in the oceans, or spread across the land, an endless tide of chemically indestructible junk, polluting our coastlines, infiltrating ecosystems and, when it breaks down into microscopic fragments, entering our bodies, with unknown health repercussions.
BLAME BIG OIL
With the rise of electric vehicles and the government pressure to make more fuel efficient vehicles, big oil companies are doubling down on plastics— investing hundreds of billions of dollars to expand plastic production.
With that, they’ve been selling the false narrative about our ability to recycle plastics.
But, it’s not just big oil. Lisa Ramsden from Greenpeace USA said: “Corporations like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Unilever have worked with industry front groups to promote plastic recycling as the solution to plastic waste for decades.”
Click above for John Oliver’s recent breakdown of the myth of plastic recycling.
Even most “advanced recycling” projects, which try to handle hard-to-recycle plastics like plastic bags or takeout containers, have failed.
SO, WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THIS PLASTIC?
The US used to send a lot of it to China. But in 2018, China banned these imports because its recyclers were too overwhelmed.
As John Oliver explains in the clip above, the US is among countries that now ship plastic waste to places like Malaysia and Indonesia, where there are now areas with trash as far as the eye can see.
Keep in mind: As this plastic waste breaks down, it enters water systems as microplastics, and has major health effects on animals and humans and our food.
Plastic dump in Malaysia.
NEW LEGISLATION
The reality is that the US and developed countries have to figure out what to do with their own trash and continue the transition away from plastic.
A number of countries around the world have banned single-use plastics. Several US states and cities have also passed laws.
More states are also trying to impose “polluter-pays” laws.
Instead of taxpayers paying for waste collection, they make companies that make and use plastic carry the cost. Maine was the first U.S. state to pass such legislation.
California’s Attorney General recently opened an investigation into fossil fuel and petrochemicals companies, accusing them of perpetuating a decades-long disinformation campaign.
✔︎Mo News Reality Check: The bottom line: Plastic is ubiquitous. And the United States is way behind other countries when it comes to a ban on plastics.
The US has yet to enact a single-use plastic ban at the federal level. Instead, the responsibility has been taken up by states and cities. Connecticut, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Vermont have all placed bans on plastic bags.
There is currently a global waste crisis, and the US is a big part of the problem— with 4% of the world’s population but producing 12% of the municipal waste.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨 NATION
📌 Pittsburgh synagogue shooter sentenced to death for killing 11 worshippers in 2018 massacre. (CNN)
Mike Pence role in Trump indictment creates fresh tensions in 2024 race (WASHINGTON POST)
📌 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs abolished at Disney World by new DeSantis-appointed board (NBC)
📌 Why America’s gun laws are in chaos (WSJ)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Canadian PM Justin Trudeau announces separation from his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (NBC NEWS)
📌 Climate Progress: Amazon rainforest deforestation down 60% from last summer (GUARDIAN)
📌 China floats major daily limits of smartphone screen time for kids. New rules restrict children under 18 to between 45 minutes to 2 hours of device use depending on age. (CNBC)
📌 NASA detects ‘heartbeat’ from Voyager 2 Spacecraft after losing contact (SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN)
💵 BUSINESS & TECH
📌 Hollywood writers to meet with studios for first time since striking (WASHINGTON POST)
📌 4 things to know as new incandescent light bulb ban goes into effect (THE HILL)
📌 Ex-Google recruiter shares the #1 thing to do after applying for job —that most people fail at (CNBC)
📌 CVS to slash 5,000 jobs as company deepens costly health-care push (CNBC)
🎥 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Big Ten, which already has 14 teams and is expanding to 16, now looking at adding four additional schools from the Pac-12. (ESPN)
📌 Burned by summer heat, travelers are finding new destinations beyond Europe (CNBC)
📌 Lindsey Lohan declares: “I’m not a regular mom, I’m a postpartum mom” 🤣 (US WEEKLY)
📌 Criminal case against ‘Rust’ armorer moves forward as judge rejects dismissal (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
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🗓 ON THIS DAY: AUGUST 3
1492: Hoping to find a westward route to India, Christopher Columbus set sail on his first transatlantic voyage, departing from Palos, Spain, with three small ships—the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María.
1914: Germany declared war on France in World War I.
1984: American gymnast Mary Lou Retton won the all-around event at the Los Angeles Games, becoming the first American woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in gymnastics.
1987: Rick Astley releases his hit song ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’
1996: The Macarena hits #1 on the Billboard charts. It becomes so popular, the entire Democratic National Convention takes a break to dance to the song that summer. (above)
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