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Most US voters say plastics industry should be held responsible for recycling claims – report (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

58 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Even a majority of Republicans support efforts to hold manufacturers accountable for allegedly deceptive claims

Concern about the fossil fuel and plastics industries’ alleged deception about recycling is growing, with new polling showing a majority of American voters, including 54% of Republicans, support legal efforts to hold the sectors accountable.

The industries have faced increasing scrutiny for their role in the global plastics pollution crisis, including an ongoing California investigation and dozens of suits filed over the last decade against consumer brands that sell plastics.

Research published earlier this year found that plastic producers have known for decades that plastic recycling is too cumbersome and expensive to ever become a feasible waste management solution, but promoted it to the public anyway.

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[–] [email protected] 112 points 4 months ago (11 children)

Remember in the 70s when the cigarette industry said their products were safe?

Remember in the 80s when the candy industry said it was the lack of exercise that was the cause of overweight?

Remember in the 90s when the gun industry pointed the blame to personal responsibility as the cause of school shootings?

Maybe just maybe industries can't self regulate. I can go on.

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[–] [email protected] 67 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Legislation on packaging should really be entertained as well. For many products a biodegradable form of packaging would be completely viable.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

Impossible, the only appropriate package for our premium scissors is comparably premium clamshell plastic. That you need scissors to open.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (4 children)

I would sooner hold out local municipalities who run the recycling centers and our investigative news agencies for not clearly informing the public that recycling plastic has not been the ecological solution we've been promised.

I mean, sure, the plastic producers lied but the recyclers have known about it this entire time too. How this has been such a secret for decades may suggest some deeper conspiracy.

And, if it's the case that our governments were genuinely unable to know this was an issue, we should be more critical of them for not knowing what other outside agencies are fooling them into using tax-payer dollars against our best interests.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (10 children)

Seattle doesn't even accept plastics for recycling, only certain things for cleaning and reuse. They could do a better job in informing the public about it, though, since all of the products still stamp on the recycling symbols, most of which have never been actually recycled.

Also, decades of telling people to separate plastics for recycling into separate plastic types, like lids separate from bottles, undermines reuse because the bottles then get crushed without the lid to keep air inside. And crushing usually damages them too much to be cleaned and reused.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Yeah. Our city published the recycling restrictions on their website but people still put out stuff that's not able to be recycled. Specifically, wet or greasy cardboard. They should send out flyers every year.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

The plastic producers were the ones pushing the grift and controlling the narrative/studies, just like what was done with fossil fuels and climate change (certainly a trend here with the oil industry).

Additionally, they're the ones that directly benefitted the most so it makes sense to go after their fraudulent gains.

I'm all for being critical of municipalities and elected officials, but the solution is not to bankrupt cities or state/federal funds through litigation. The focus should be on the producers. Go to the top of the chain/follow the money.

Edit: To your point about news conglomerates, that seems more viable and they certainly need better incentives and regulation.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Dude. It's been 40 years.

I didn't say news conglomerates. I said investigative news agencies - meaning the local news.

At some point over the past forty years, someone in government and someone at a local news paper has known there was a conspiracy. These people need to be held accountable. They're the ones who have cost tax payers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Granted, I may be giving too much credit to local government. I don't think most voters in the country care very much about electing people smart enough to put two and two together.

What I have such a hard time with is that people like yourself are so quick to excuse gullibility. The big powerful plastic company promised us it would be okay. Why would anyone dare question them or their motives? The fossil fuel company certainly has the public and the environment at their best interests. So many people are so quick to shrug and say "not my fault". Did you even attempt to ask questions or were you afraid that knowing the truth would be bad for your administration?

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