"Except for the small amount that's been incinerated, every bit of plastic ever made still exists."

[mothwing]

Someone in environment  posted a rather alarming article about the effects of plastic on the oceans -  and there was a statistic on recycling in the US that caught my eye: 



Three to five percent? That's not a lot.

As far as I know, this is different in the EU. Not only are 80% of all wastes recovered in most member states, 40% of plastics are recycled and rising. Many of the well-off member states don't use landfills at all any more, our newest member states still do, and there is of course the problem of waste being shipped off to China for recycling or to other countries to be put in landfills, anyway.
Still, on the whole, I was shocked to find that things are SO much worse in the US. Although maybe, considering what even EU recycling can look like, I maybe didn't have reason to think too highly of it.

Comments

[lordhellebore]

Good grief! I had to stop watching when they showed the toddler playing with the trash.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that scene got me, too. :(

[rizardofoz.livejournal.com]

Our recycling capabilities are seriously horrendous; especially after all the Bible-thumping about it in my elementary school lessons, you'd think our system would have improved. I guess one shouldn't be too expectant after having the cruelest government over the past 8 years when it comes to the environment here in the US.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Well, I went to an "environmentally conscious" Gymnasium and the first assignment we had was to build a styrofoam globe and paint the countries of the earth on it with felt-tip pens and instruct our parents to wrap our lunches in plastic wrap. They did make two students of every class go garbage collecting on the school yard during the breaks, though, and we received lessons on environmentally friendly things.

I really hope the situation in the US improves - although, compared to other countries, they are still doing rather well.