Turkey’s Plastic Recycling Industry Is Booming. But It Comes at a Cost.
Dotted across the southern Turkish city of Adana are illegal dump sites for plastic recycling waste that never got recycled. The labels show they've come from consumers in Europe and the United States. These countries now ship recyclable plastic waste to countries like Turkey. But this rapidly growing industry often skirts regulations, leading to health and environmental risks for the surrounding community. The World's Durrie Bouscaren reports from Adana.
A Slim Percentage of Plastic Gets Recycled. How Can We Change That?
The reports on plastic waste are staggering. Households in the U.S. generated 51 million tons of plastic waste in 2021 and 5 to 6% of that was recycled, according to Greenpeace. Beyond Plastics and The Last Beach Cleanup similarly puts the rate at 5 to 6%. On Cincinnati Edition, we're going to dive into these findings and talk about what happens when plastic is recycled, looking at the sorting and reprocessing of the material. Plus, we'll talk about what can and cannot be recycled and look at efforts to reduce plastic waste.
Your Yogurt Tub Says ‘Widely Recyclable’—but Is It Being Recycled?
Companies are set to start labeling plastic packaging commonly used for yogurt, cottage cheese and butter as “widely recyclable,” sparking opposition from some environmental groups who say the change risks misleading consumers.