How Big Oil Deceived The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled

This ~5 minute NPR broadcast this morning is just a reminder about how some or most big business operates in America and has operated for decades. Companies who directly or indirectly profit from plastic reacted when there was a growing public backlash in the 1990s against widespread plastic litter in the environment. The industry mounted a massive public relations (propaganda) ad campaign to convince the public that plastic was recyclable. At the time the industry knew that most plastic was not recyclable for economic and practical or technical reasons. That remains true today. Over 90% of plastic is still not recycled.

The industry lobbied almost 40 state governments to require them to put recycling symbols on plastic products. That propaganda campaign worked. The public was deceived into believing that plastic was recyclable when the industry knew that was not true. The ad campaign cost a paltry $50 million/year for several years before the public was deceived into a false belief that the problem had been taken care of.

In fact the problem had been taken care of. The public had been deceived and millions of tons of plastic waste flowed into the environment. Today, the industry is once again facing a public backlash. And once again it is mounting a propaganda campaign to again deceive the public into thinking that the millions of tons of plastic waste is recyclable when that is simply another self-serving industry lie.

Symbols of deceit - ~90% of it isn't recyclable, 

arguably making 100% of it a lie

Landfill workers bury all plastic except soda bottles 

and milk jugs at Rogue Disposal & Recycling in southern Oregon

(maybe there's more than a just a few rogue soda bottles and milk jugs in that pile)

This topic has been discussed here recently, so this is just a reminder.