This story is a partnership between Inside Climate News and CBS News. Watch the CBS Reports documentary, “Advanced Recycling: Does Big Plastic’s Idea Work?”
About 48 million tons of plastic waste are generated each year in the U.S., and very little of it is ever recycled. The city of Houston says it has an innovative new program that can recycle any type of plastic, calling it a model for the nation, but environmental groups say the results leave much to be desired .
Brandy Deason, a climate justice coordinator for Air Alliance Houston, has been adding tracking devices when she bags up her plastics for recycling. She was skeptical of Houston’s program and its claims that it could recycle any type of plastic.The tracker showed her bags ended up at a storage site — not a recycling center.
Deason said she doesn’t think the average person in Houston is aware that this is where their recycling ends up.
“I think that they’ve gotten the idea that it’s being taken care of and being recycled,” she said.