Recycling is the process of converting waste into reusable materials. In theory, almost all plastic can be recycled—but in practice, various barriers make the process far from perfect. These challenges have fueled headlines, lawsuits, and public debates portraying plastic recycling as a “lie.”
The truth is more complex. Plastic recycling isn’t a failure—it’s an evolving system that delivers real environmental benefits, reduces waste, and continues to improve with investment, innovation, and realistic expectations.
Most conversations about recycling focus on post-consumer materials—the bottles, films, and packaging collected from homes. But there’s another, equally important side to the story: post-industrial recycling. This often-overlooked process happens upstream, at the manufacturing level, where large quantities of usable plastic can be recovered before they ever reach consumers.
At Sunrise, we specialize in this lesser-known side of recycling, reclaiming spilled polymers from petrochemical plants and other industrial sources. When managed responsibly, post-industrial recycling keeps millions of pounds of material out of landfills and supplies manufacturers with reliable, high-quality recycled resins. It may not be as visible as curbside bins, but it’s just as essential to building a more sustainable future.
Misconceptions About Plastic Recycling
When people explain why they think plastic recycling is a lie, we most frequently hear the following two misconceptions:
1. Recycling hurts the environment more than it benefits it.
Polls by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. recently found that only 49% of people believe recycling reduces greenhouse emissions.
The recycling process itself does have an environmental impact—there are always material and environmental costs during production. However, the effect of recycling does not compare to the impact of creating new plastics. Here’s why:
- Producing a plastic bottle from recycled plastic requires at least 75% less energy than making one from newly produced plastic.
- Recycling reduces the need to extract new natural materials from the environment for production.
- When materials are sorted and separated for recycling purposes, we can remove hazardous additives such as mercury and lead and dispose of them properly, without dumping them into landfills near our communities.
2. America sends our recycling overseas.
Many people believe U.S. plastic that’s sorted for recycling is shipped and disposed of overseas. In reality, over 93% of plastics recovered in the U.S. are recycled in North America. According to the Association of Plastic Recyclers, the U.S. is actually a net importer of recycled plastics because of the growing demand from domestic manufacturers who want to incorporate recycled content.
The Benefits of Plastic Recycling
These misconceptions about plastic recycling cause confusion and erode trust in the recycling process. In reality, plastic recycling is effective and benefits the U.S. in three significant ways.
Environmental benefits
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2013, recycling (combined with composting) reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 186 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
This has a net positive impact, reducing the amount of new materials needed for production and the hazardous materials disposed of in landfills.
Improving material reuse via successful streams
The term “recycling streams” refers to the categories of recyclable materials collected by a program or organization. Streams can be as simple as a “single-stream” setup, where all materials are gathered together. Or they can be more complicated, as the materials are sorted and separated from one another.
Functionally, investing in multi-stream setups makes more sense. When different materials move through the recycling system together, they can contaminate or damage other perfectly good recyclables.
A successful recycling stream ultimately results in materials being reused. Thanks to successful recycling streams, nearly 40% of U.S. manufacturing inputs now come from recycled materials—including not just plastics, but also steel, paper, and glass. Recycling is particularly successful in the auto industry, where up to two-thirds of a vehicle’s components are made from recycled content.
Economic value
The recycled materials industry plays a prominent role as an economic leader, job creator, and major exporter in the United States.
According to the Recycled Materials Association, the economic impact of the recycled materials industry in the U.S. is nearly $169 billion:
- The recycled materials industry supports 596,000 jobs.
- Employees working in the recycled materials industry earn an approximate total of $48 billion in wages.
Currently, recycling offers both environmental and economic benefits. There are, however, still challenges to address in the industry.
Recycling Challenges Are Not Lies
Currently, recycling is underperforming—but is not nonexistent.
- Contamination and sorting difficulties result in some recyclable materials being wasted and shipped to landfills.
- Some plastics are more challenging to recycle than others, including multi-layer films and mixed resins.
- Recycling rates, although improving with advancements in technology and infrastructure, are still lower than they could be.
Advances and Innovations in Recycling
Significant technological and policy advances are shaping the future of plastic recycling.
Improved mechanical recycling methods, such as the use of AI, robotics, and optical scanners, are making it easier to sort plastics accurately and efficiently. Meanwhile, chemical recycling is emerging as a powerful tool for breaking down plastics to their molecular level, allowing them to be reused in the creation of entirely new products.
Before items hit store shelves, OEMs and brand owners can lead the way by:
- Designing products for reclaim, using materials and structures that can be efficiently recovered and reprocessed.
- Building take-back programs, creating convenient collection depots, incentives, and rebate systems that bring used products back into the recycling stream.
- Establishing logistics for returns. Without a viable return path, even the best recycling infrastructure struggles to close the loop.
Policy support is also driving progress. Measures like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs, recycled content mandates, and deposit-return systems are encouraging greater accountability and higher recovery rates. Additionally, many companies are increasing their efforts, with major brands now incorporating recycled plastic into their products on a large scale.
Together, these innovations and commitments are proving that the future of plastic recycling is both promising and impactful.
Recycling is one essential tool—alongside reduction and reuse—in managing plastic waste responsibly. Without recycling, the amount of plastic waste in our environment would grow even faster. Instead of dismissing recycling, we need to continue to improve and innovate, to build a stronger recycling system and a more sustainable future.
