Roberta Boscolo writes on LinkedIn: The Illusion of Recycling. ONLY 9% of the World’s Plastic Waste Gets Recycled.

91% of plastic waste worldwide is still incinerated, landfilled, or mismanaged—often ending up in our oceans.

Why isn’t recycling working?

Most plastics are not created for circularity. The system is flawed because:
Plastics are often incompatible, making sorting expensive.
Only PET (#1) and HDPE (#2) are widely recycled.
Virgin plastic, subsidized by fossil fuels, is cheaper than recycled plastic.
The rise of flexible packaging (like snack wrappers) makes recycling even harder.

So, What Can Be Done?

To stem the tide of plastic waste, systemic change is needed:
Banning single-use and unrecyclable plastics
Advancing a global plastics treaty
Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies
Holding plastic producers accountable

Plastic pollution is a design flaw in our economic system. We need bold policy changes and innovative solutions to break free from plastic dependence.