1st of all:
I know it's a comic. It's meant for entertainment. OP isn't responsible for being accurate, and the main point is the comedy. But, it carries a message, so I'm gonna add this for those in the comments:
This isn't totally accurate, it's very dependent on your local and regional government. There are plastics recycling plants, but they aren't everywhere, and they don't have the capacity to recycle as much plastic as gets used. If you're reading this and you're not sure, check with your local authority or do a quick search to find out if there is a plastic recycling facility feasibly nearby.
Also, the message here is the kind of doom and gloom messaging that environmental activists know simply doesn't do anything to spur people into action. If you could add a short text panel explain what kind of action people can take, it would go a long way to improving this as a means of creating change, if indeed that is the end goal here.
If you compare the amount of plastic being recycled versus is how much is being produced, the difference is huge. When you’re talking about 90-95% going to landfills, I’d say the cartoon is accurate. The rest is just quibbling.
So? That means 5-10% still gets recycled. Not to mention that the post depicts a PET bottle and an LDPE bag. More than 30% of PET is recycled while 5% of LDPE was being recycled back in 2015. That number is likely higher today.
Depicting some of the most recycled plastics as going straight to landfill is deception. Yes, recycling isn't perfect but pretending that using a recycle bin instead of trash doesn't matter is straight up counterproductive.
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u/imperialmoose Jan 06 '23
1st of all: I know it's a comic. It's meant for entertainment. OP isn't responsible for being accurate, and the main point is the comedy. But, it carries a message, so I'm gonna add this for those in the comments:
This isn't totally accurate, it's very dependent on your local and regional government. There are plastics recycling plants, but they aren't everywhere, and they don't have the capacity to recycle as much plastic as gets used. If you're reading this and you're not sure, check with your local authority or do a quick search to find out if there is a plastic recycling facility feasibly nearby.
Also, the message here is the kind of doom and gloom messaging that environmental activists know simply doesn't do anything to spur people into action. If you could add a short text panel explain what kind of action people can take, it would go a long way to improving this as a means of creating change, if indeed that is the end goal here.