8 Best Articles on Recycling
The most useful articles on recycling from around the web, curated by thought leaders and our community.
Refind focuses on timeless pieces and updates the list whenever new, must-read articles or videos are discovered.
Top 5 Recycling Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved on recycling by Refind users in 2024 so far.
- Plastic Recycling Doesn’t Work and Will Never Work
- How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled
- Wax worm saliva rapidly breaks down plastic bags, scientists discover
- Scientists Engineer Bacteria to Recycle Plastic Waste Into Valuable Chemicals
- Electronic waste from your old laptop could make cash for “urban miners”
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles on recycling—all under 10 minutes.
Plastic Recycling Doesn’t Work and Will Never Work
If the plastics industry is following the tobacco industry’s playbook, it may never admit to the failure of plastics recycling.
«Recycled plastic costs more than new plastic because collecting, sorting, transporting, and reprocessing plastic waste is exorbitantly expensive.»
Scientists Engineer Bacteria to Recycle Plastic Waste Into Valuable Chemicals
A new approach that combines biological and chemical processes could greatly simplify the process of recycling mixed plastics.
Wax worm saliva rapidly breaks down plastic bags, scientists discover
Its enzymes degrade polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could ‘revolutionise’ recycling
Recycling plastic is practically impossible
A new report from Greenpeace found that people may be putting plastic into recycling bins — but almost none of it is actually being recycled. Meanwhile, plastic production is ramping up.
«Greenpeace found that no plastic – not even soda bottles, one of the most prolific items thrown into recycling bins – meets the threshold to be called "recyclable"»
Electronic waste from your old laptop could make cash for “urban miners”
Valuable raw materials can be extracted from your used devices and gadgets for recycling, reducing the amount of electronic waste.
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles on recycling.
How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled
An NPR and PBS Frontline investigation reveals how the oil and gas industry used the promise of recycling to sell more plastic, even when they knew it would never work on a large scale.
'Plastic recycling is a myth': what really happens to your rubbish?
You sort your recycling, leave it to be collected – and then what? From councils burning the lot to foreign landfill sites overflowing with British rubbish, Oliver Franklin-Wallis reports on a global…
Use compostable plastic – and the 16 other essential rules of effective recycling
Do you have to wash your tins before recycling them? Are glass milk bottles better than plastic? Do you need to use a bag for life, for life? All your questions about staying eco without it becoming a…
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