Everything you've been told about plastic is wrong

Everything which was told about plastics is wrong

Recycling is not the best way to treat plastic, it is poisoning the planet. Recycling is the last resort. Recycling is the grown-up version of squeezing our eyes shut, sticking our fingers in our ears and shouting “lalalalalala!”. Meanwhile our marine life is fast becoming extinct, our air is so polluted, natural disasters are more devastating than ever and, of course, the planet is hurtling ever closer to a disastrous level of global warming. Of all that plastic you found in your house, two third cannot be recycled. Even the thermal paper your shopping receipts are usually printed on contain BPA and cannot be recycled.

Recycling is not something that governments or charities do out of the goodness of their hearts. 70% of potentially recyclable plastic in Europe ends up in a landfill, in oceans or are incinerated, leading to the release of devastatingly harmful toxins into the environment. Plastic will take centuries to degrade. One single water bottle will remain on the planet in some form for a minimum of 450 years. Governments must focus on stopping its production entirely. The impact of climate change is largely irreversible, but not unstoppable.