"The only thing the plastics industry has actually recycled is their lies, over and over again." -Jan Dell

getting charge a container tax and not having a recycling program is a fraud.

We could just go back to glass bottles and cans it tastes better.

Go back to glass and paper. Use hemp instead of trees. Hemp can replace a lot of uses . Amendem I stand corrected about using glass. Bad idea right?

WE SHOULD SEND ALL PLASTIC BACK TO THE COMPANIES THAT MAKE THIS PRODUCT !!!!!

If there was an option, I would always go with more recyclable or compostable products or packaging. Yet I can’t even buy simple paper or bamboo plates without them coming in plastic bags. The industry has made it so hard to make the better choice.

The only way to help is to stop buying so much plastic. Very hard to do.

Micro plastics, EVERYWHERE!

I’ve had a feeling for about 15 years. Once I learned that “one dirty container ruins the whole batch”. I prefer paper and glass.

Remember when grocery stores phased out paper bags in favor of plastic because it was better for the environment?

The plastics companies should be forced to pay for all removal of plastic from the environment. And also the replacements to new products. I avoid plastic containers and have changed away from things like deodorant and shampoo and plastic water bottles. Even wrapped up in plastic will stop my purchases.

I once worked in a refinery in Port Arthur, texas. They had a flare burning almost the entire first 3 months that I was working there. I realize that no matter how much I recycle, I had just watched the amount of fuel that I would use for my entire life, which was burnt in 3 months.

I would like to point out that there are cities/towns where people and businesses have been fined for not recycling. Let that sink in

Corporations and manufacturers have always put the onus to clean up their mess on consumers

Thank you Jan, for your efforts to call these plastic industries out. How horrifying, what people will do, to make money. The problems we are left with are truly awful, and getting worse. Governments need to step in, to stop it.

Plastic is so pervasive. No matter what you buy at the grocery store, the majority of products have some plastic component in the packaging. Produce - here, have a plastic bag to put it in, etc. The amount of plastic surrounding our food and food production now means that we have plastics flowing through our bloodstream. It’s infuriating.

Plastic should be outlawed. There are better materials that can be used.

When will people realize corporations will always lie to improve their perceived bottom line. Unfortunately the actual bottom line is in the grave.

Recently I went to 3 recycling centers with a car load of plastics and all of them told me “we don’t take plastic”.

I was told about 20 years ago from a manager at our local recycling center "we do not give tours" i took that as "we really dont recycle we just collect it & pass it along to be put with other waste" In other words " dont look behind the curtain you might not like what you find"

It seems like most people don't realize plastic is made from oil and gas. And that the plastic industry is playing by the same rulebook.

Time for a MASSIVE class-action lawsuit.

I wish we could go back to glass.

The only way to change the way plastics are made is to replace plastics - with biodegradable packaging, and going back to paper and glass.

Anybody who ever stayed late in an office has seen janitors empty all the separated garbage into one big bag. The separate containers you see at Whole Foods and outdoor parks all seem to collect everything too. So what are we doing here? It’s not just the plastics industry, but local governments and other corporations are lying to us too.

I worked with a group of youth to start a recycling program at their HS….spent all year picking up and sorting. Went with the maintenance guy one day…everything thrown in same dumpster🙄

If your business model is to _sell as much new plastics as possible_ it's counter productive to fully commit to recycling old plastics. So to mitigate public unrest just throw labels on new plastics that say it's recyclable.

Not to mention that an entire second garbage truck comes to my house to pick up this stuff to “recycle”. So many opportunities to take our money! Disposal company gets some, town gets some. And I get double the noise and pollution from doubling the garbage trucks!

I appreciate, support, and respect any journalistic effort to expose the plastics industry. Please keep up the pressure. I don't want to live in a world trying in vain to keep up with plastics by recycling. I just want the plastic gone. Package stuff in glass, paper, and metal.

Imagine what else we are being lied about...

I hate seeing those plastics industry recycling promotion commercials. Lies.

I try to avoid buying plastics as much as I can as it's obvious other materials are much more recyclable. I think hemp and other green materials are being over looked because it's cheaper to produce more plastic. Hemp has a 90 day crop cycle that can be grown in poor soil, use less water, clean and amend the soil, has multiple textiles and can pull carbon from the atmosphere. Ive seen tech that can use seaweed as well. These seem like better options to pursue.

Don't forget the hype over _compostable_ plastics. They require _industrial_ composting facilities, not your backyard composting bin.

Some plastics actually can be recycled a few times quite easily or at least downcycled into lower grade products like carpeting or plastic boards. The problem is most people suck at recycling and contaminate the waste streams so bad that no one will buy the bulk plastic, and it gets sent to the landfill. People need to stop wishcycling, throwing any paper, plastic, or metal object into the comingled recycling stream. Find out what materials the local recycling company will actually accept and what condition they have to be in. If they only take number 1 and 2 plastic, only recycle those. If they have to be rinsed, rinse them. If they have to be unbagged, pour them from your indoor bin into the outdoor bin and pray there’s not a breeze when they collect it. As a general rule, if it’s not clean enough that you would keep it in a bagless bin inside your house for several days, it’s probably too gross for the recyclers, too. Humans hand sort a lot of the plastics after they’ve been sitting in the outside bins for days and mixed with everyone else’s recycling. Have some decency and rinse out your dairy containers. The bulk plastic buyers don’t want to pay for food scraps, either, so they’ll refuse bales of plastic that are fouled. My workplace is trying to improve our recycling streams to only include things that will actually be sorted and bought, and we learned that some materials that should be recyclable are refused by plastic buyers, even if they’re clean, just because other people leave them dirty so often that they just assume it’s all fouled. Do NOT throw plastic bags into the recycling bin. They clog up the sorting machines and shut down the line. No clothes, cables, hoses, twine, oily cardboard (including pizza boxes), diapers, food waste, plastic utensils or straws, styrofoam, rubber, or anything too small to sort.

Absolutely outrageous. Big oil execs should be jailed for life. Period.

I try and not buy single plastic container or bags, it's disgusting, the lies of recycling .

Ah, the oil companies 😢😢😢

If our government is not hand in hand with the oil industry , then why are they not enforcing the recycling laws? Why are they allowing them to get away with this? There needs to be federal and state investigations on this fraud.

Metal, glass or paper thats it. Since almost a year I never buy a plastic packaged product if there's a metal, glass or paper alternative available.

Lies lies and more lies from industry

They take more energy to recycle than it does to produce from scratch. Also, the types of plastic can't be mixed. And there are several types.

Industry (primary oil) greed created this growing plastics polluting nightmare. Our planet & we are literally dying because of it! We eat, drink & breath plastic by products. It's no wonder cancer rates are so high! The average person can do little to resolve this mess. We must hold the industries that created it accountable for fixing it.

the only way this will truly be solved is if you stop buying plastic. And that's everyone. Food manufacturers, online sellers, the end consumer at the grocery store. Make it unprofitable for plastics to continue to be used... and it'll stop.

People put plastic bags in their blue recycling bins?? Good lord, America is getting dumber. 🤦🏽‍♀️

And just think about how shrinkflation has exacerbated our plastic consumption. We have to buy more of it to buy the same amount of food.

Can confirm. Disney in Orlando literally takes all the stuff from the recycle bins and dumps it in the bins behind the parks lol

Amazon packages are such a major waste. You order a very small product that is delivered in a very large cardboard box filled with large plastic bubble wrap!!!

Burning used plastic is at least halfway sensible as long as it's used for power generation. The natural resource at least has been used more than once. Anything else is pretty much just a waste of time.

In Colombia they have been successful in utilizing recycled plastics to make blocks for building homes and as roofing materials.

so we have extra garbage trucks that weigh a ton wearing out our sidestreets for false recycling, i've seen a single garbage truck take the recycleables along with garbage. I stopped recycling after seeing this many times years ago so stopped wasting my time and water cleaning the jars and cans, water is expensive today.

I would be happy to have my food last not as long in my fridge if it meant not ending up with a trash bin full of plastic every week. EVERYTHING is packaged in plastic now.

Funny thing is that if you eat properly you'll also find you don't need most of these plastic products. Most of the foods sold in fancy plastic packaging are just garbage food.

About time we start doing something about this. We need to start holding these companies accountable already.

You didn’t tell me what I should actually do with my plastic!?!? It’s impossible to avoid completely, so what should I be doing with it?

I knew this years ago. Nothing new here. Go volunteer at a recycling center, you'll throw away most plastic. Oh and if you don't "fully" clean your plastic cartons we throw them in the trash.

So many comments say it's hard to get rid of plastics. We got rid of paper bags. Plastic wrapping is also an indication of processed food. Maybe by going to fresh food, we can solve two things at once and be healthier for it.

Why is laundry detergent still allowed to be sold in plastic bottles. They have sheets now that can come in cardboard boxes. They have pods that come in plastic bags that use way less plastic than liquid bottles. And powdered detergent has been available forever in bags and boxes. There's just no need for these plastic laundry detergent bottles, and they need to be banned, just like incandescent light bulbs.

I didn't realize this has been going on since the 80's. I thought it was in recent years when the countries that bought the recyclables didn't want them anymore. But I thought they were being recycled all this time.

WTF. Not like separating out plastic from garbage is big level of effort, but if recycling isn't actually recycling... what's the point -- we're told that if we put in just one thing that's not actually recyclable into that bin, the whole thing goes into garbage. So if plastic isn't recyclable, then it's always going into garbage?

These companies need to be held accountable and fined massively for this kind of malfeasance.

It’s crazy the lengths you have to go to to avoid plastic. I’ve learned how to make my own deodorant. I’m tired of all the plastic container I’ve had to throw away. I’m now looking into a home version of toothpaste and other toiletries that I can make so I can stop buying all those little plastic bottles. It’s work!

This is WHY technology that breaks down bioplastics away from traditional plastics is SO important.

Where I work we use 5 different locations to brig garbage and recycling. The recycling is to complicated for collage educated people to understand, clearly labeled containers are ignored. Aluminum in the plastic, plastic in the aluminum, garbage in both, idiots in desks.

We've been lied to? Oh..the shock of it. But it's the 1st time we've been lied to, right? RIGHT????

Corporations should be forced to switch to biodegradable plastics without repercussions. They've had the technology but refuse to switch.

Seems like Penn and Teller had something to say about this 20 years ago.

I thought it was to good to be true 😢

Recycling should be a subsidized public government service, not a privately run for profit business. I rarely say the government should spend morethan they already do, but in this case no one has the proper incentive to do it very well, and doing it well would be greatly beneficial to the public and the planet, and something most of us want.

The *most* recyclable kind of plastic is clear #2 (like most milk jugs). There’s actually a pretty good market for that! There’s also a market for other forms of #2, as well as #1 (like soda and water bottles). Plastic bags and film - the stuff that says “store drop-off” in the recycling label - is legitimately recyclable, as far as I know, but do *not* throw it in with curbside recycling as it can really jam the sorting machinery. All other kinds of plastic are basically crap. Heck, all plastic is generally crap. Use reusable packaging whenever you can, reduce the amount you buy in the first place, and speak up and encourage manufacturers and stores to use other kinds of packaging if it’s absolutely necessary.

Your town will tell you what they take. The issue is people don’t read it. Not saying the plastics industry isn’t full of crap- they are. Your local recycler though is most likely not a liar. They are usually clear about what they can take. Unfortunately there is very little marketing. You have to do the work, look at your towns website, and only put in what they take. Finding ways to recycle different types of plastic is something we should be funding with grants and initiatives. Don’t leave it to the plastic industry, outsource it to people. The problem will solved faster, and industries will grow up around it.

My uncle told me recycling was a scam 30 years ago. Crazy

If they really wanted to dispute her they could have invited her out to one of their modern facilities and showed her how she is misinformed. But i guess its easier to write a letter then to actually prove it

It’s about time to ban plastics

Reducing one's consumption is ever more important than recycling. Consume as little as possible and reuse to the max: plastic, paper, wood, etc.

This irritates me. My family has recycled years before it was trendy or mandatory. I even wash my recycling. I work on production sets and get so annoyed how much Hollywood doesn’t recycle on sets and they should all be fined.

Stores are getting rid of plastic bags at check out, meanwhile nearly every single item in the store is packaged in plastic. It's sad, but plastics aren't going away.

I know of several towns, that have stopped with the recycling, because it’s way too expensive. Deltona, Florida, Lake Placid, Florida, and others. We don’t have to separate our garbage no more here where I live. Because the cost aren’t worth it for the towns.

I think, plastic bottle water is one a the biggest problem.

Remember clean coal ?

“They always viewed recycling not as a real problem they needed to solve but as a public relations problem.” 🙄👀😒

We need to go back to glass and paper for as much of our packaging/bottling as possible.

"...it's science fiction" - such a polite way to put it :)

The issue now is the public’s consensus is the that now all recyclable material isn’t recyclable when in reality plastic was never recyclable While metals, glass, and paper products* always have been.

Back in the 90’s I worked at a bag forming plant and one of the bags we made was the insert for the powdered sugar that came in a box. We used plastic pellets to make the plastic bags and when we started up the extruder we would use old plastic from the previous run.

I recently heard Bernie Sanders say how many times he has brought up these topics and the powers that be aren't even trying to do anything about it because we all know that would hurt their pockets

Thank you CBS for exposing this! I would be absolutely flabbergasted over this if I didn’t hear it 3 years ago on Tucker Carlson. But congrats anyway I look forward to your story on Covid being a manufactured crisis in years to come.

There are three holes in the trash box at Starbucks but three kinds of trash are combined into one bag anyways😅

There is a tech in Britain that can truly recycle all plastics. It heats the plastic, collects the vapor, and condenses it back into near virgin plastic. The major problem with all of this is that virgin plastic is just cheaper, So there is no reason to use plastic recycled this way since it cost so much energy to recycle. Edit: there is an article out of BBC titled "the world's first infinite plastic" from may 2021 which touches on all of these notes. The process used is known as chemical recycling. While I agree with your video Sunday morning and the points made I don't think we will see plastic just disappear. We use it in too much. What we need it to hold these companies responsible for the microplastic pollution crisis, while also working towards safer plastics that are biodegradable, maybe something that isn't petroleum based. (Again, won't happen anytime soon because the oil industry is so big and powerful). Holding them responsible is going to have to look like something like what the EU has done when fining apple for not adhering to its new tech laws. They fined them 2% of their global revenue, 1 billion+ dollars, because any other fine for businesses this big is just the "cost of doing business". When the US fines companies like this a few million it really does feel like that scene from during powers when doctor evil demand 1 million dollars from the UN and they just laugh at him. We have fines stuck in the 60's that need to be modernized to address how big companies have gotten. As long as the EU does things like that, along with banning things that are harmful for its citizens (ritz crackers for example), something our FDA was created for 100 years ago but seems to no longer do, it will not feel like our country is leading the world in anything. Maybe in greed, while Europe becomes what the US was in the 20th century.

I knew this over 10 years ago and no one believed me.

Penn and teller already did this YEARS AGO!

I'm glad people are talking about this but you really do need to add that some recycling is possible and people need to check with their local facilities to see what they can actually use, not just put everything in the trash or believe the labels! These kinds of reports make people just give up

❤ Thank you...This is a pet peeve of mind!! Ever look at packaging on pods ? I hate plastic especially when I touch it😢

Use more paper packaging. People forget that trees are a renewable resource.

There are three ways we can reduce plastic waste, and recycling is the last of them. Reduce and reuse will make a much bigger impact than recycling. Get some reusable tote bags for grocery shopping. I've had a set for several years now, and I can't even imagine how many plastic bags I haven't used. Break the addiction to soda pop and switch to water. Get a decent Yeti-type tumbler and refill, refill, refill, refill. Go to the store and buy the things you need instead of having Amazon ship it to you. There are so many better ways to approach reducing our reliance on plastics that don't involve recycling. We just need to evaluate our habits and make the necessary adjustments. Make small changes every so often and eventually you'll notice how easy it really is. And that's not to say to give up on everything! Enjoy that ice cold soda on a hot day... but maybe do it from a can instead of the plastic bottle next time.

That’s ridiculous, I throw all the plastics I have in the trash. It’s a government who does the wrong thing.

Who's "they? Who implemented the "plastic recycling industry"? Why the fraud? Should we stop separating our trash? Are our tax dollars paying for this and essentially just funding corporations pockets? So many questions 🤔

If you know anything about what it takes to create different forms of plastic packaging, particularly packaging that is used in food, then you know that the material used to make that packaging has to be pure. You can't just take any old recycled plastic out of the trash and chunk it into the equipment that melts that stuff to form it into new plastic packaging and use it. It'll file the equipment, and it'll make a product that is not suitable for something like food packaging. What they should do with recycle plastic is use it to make things like building materials or roadways. Use it in things that don't require a lot of purity in the final product.

My local recycler takes only plastic bottles (drinks, detergent, etc.) nothing else.

The problem is NOT plastics, or waste, or recycling or even the lies about all of the above. The problem is that there are too many people on this planet.

Worse, that "chasing arrows" recycling symbol ♻️ on styrofoam does not mean that the styrofoam goes in the recycling bin, it's simply there to encourage recycling.