THE RECYCLING MYTH, A FILM DIRECTED BY TOM COSTELLO, PRODUCED BY TRISTAN CHYTROSCHECK

What really happens to our plastic waste once we put it in the recycling bin?

In the last few years the plastic pollution crisis has become an international scandal. But the plastic packaging industry has declared it knows how to solve the problem: recycling. Increasingly, bottles, boxes and sachets are proudly stamped with the words ‘100% recyclable’ as brands compete to reassure consumers that their packaging purchases are guilt-free. But if recycling is really the solution, why is the world pumping out more virgin plastic than ever before? Could recycling really be the ultimate greenwash? We follow the money into an industry that’s designed to hide the problem rather than solve it. We track the black-market brokers who hunt for countries to dump our plastic, waste moguls getting rich by burning trash, and the organised criminals for whom waste smuggling is now as lucrative as human trafficking. As we all pick up the bill for a world drowning in plastic, the film asks: who is getting rich?

DIRECTED BY TOM COSTELLO, PRODUCED BY TRISTAN CHYTROSCHECK

shown with kind permission form www.breakfreefromplastic.org

limited spaces, email andy@greenhive.co.uk for free ticket. Part of the Highland Climate Festival 2022.

KEY FINDINGS

- Only a fraction of the plastic we use is actually recycled. Since the 1950’s, only 9% of plastic has been recycled. - Our plastic waste is no longer shipped off to Southeast Asia, since the Basel Directive has banned the export of plastic to developing countries. Instead, a lot of plastic ends up in Eastern Europe and Turkey - Western and Northern Europe also largely rely on incinerating waste, conveniently labelling it “Waste to Energy Recovery”. But, at the end of the day, burning plastic, which is made from fossil fuels, is just like burning coal or oil. - As our demand for oil and gas goes down, the supply of plastic is planned to go up, especially in emerging markets. It's been estimated that plastic production is expected to double in the next 20 years.