Does recycling really make a difference? That’s what Brandy Deason, based in Houston, wanted to investigate. The city’s local authorities had launched an ambitious recycling program, and Deason, who works for the environmental NGO Air Alliance Houston, was determined to assess its effectiveness.
To trace the plastic she was recycling, she placed an AirTag in the plastic garbage bag, enabling her to track its journey.
Although you might assume that the plastic would be sent to a recycling center, they actually ended up in a Wright Waste Management landfill.
CBS News reporters recently attempted to gain access to the facility but were denied entry. Instead, they used a drone to capture video footage and discovered that the purported recycled content at the Houston Recycling Collaboration (HRC) program had resulted in large piles of unprocessed garbage, creating plastic mountains more than 10 feet high.
The issue appears to be that the plastic processing and recycling plant, which is part of the HRC project, hasn’t yet been put into operation by Cyclix International, one of the partners in the HRC. According to the company, a substantial amount of plastic is required to begin processing once the plant is operational.
However, the plant isn’t scheduled to open for approximately nine months. In the meantime, many expect the accumulated amount of plastic to be significant, particularly now that the recycling program has been expanded to additional locations.
Image | Xataka
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