The Last Beach Clean Up and Beyond Plastics released a new report “The Real Truth About the U.S. Plastics Recycling Rate,” which documented a recycling rate of 5 to 6% for post-consumer plastic waste in the U.S. for 2021. The groups also revealed that while plastics recycling is on the decline, the per capita generation of plastic waste has increased by 263% since 1980. The report shares examples of public policies that have successfully reduced plastic waste and pollution including plastic bag bans, plastic bottled water bans coupled with water filling stations, and reuse systems. Once the truth about plastics recycling is understood, these effective policies are far more likely to be widely adopted.
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- United States of America
