It really depends on the type of material and country. Many monoplastics and almost all cardboard can be recycled and is (e.g. in Germany and other European countries).
> Recycling mostly means "sent to landfills in the third world"
This is less true now that China banned plastic waste imports.
I agree though that the average person might overestimate how much of their waste can be recycled. However, many materials are recycled and then re-used, so it's not like the whole concept is a scam.
Aside from a few select product categories, recycling IS a scam.
E.g.: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/17/plastic-...
Recycling mostly means "sent to landfills in the third world":
https://earth.org/waste-colonialism-a-brief-history-of-dumpi...
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2023/03/rich-countri...
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/opinion/trash-recycling-g...
It really depends on the type of material and country. Many monoplastics and almost all cardboard can be recycled and is (e.g. in Germany and other European countries).
> Recycling mostly means "sent to landfills in the third world"
This is less true now that China banned plastic waste imports.
I agree though that the average person might overestimate how much of their waste can be recycled. However, many materials are recycled and then re-used, so it's not like the whole concept is a scam.
Mostly, yeah. "Yet the industry spent millions telling people to recycle, because, as one former top industry insider told NPR, selling recycling sold plastic, even if it wasn't true." https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-...
Many recycling programs don't actually recycle.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/critics-call-out-plastics-indus...