LETTER: Questions about Las Vegas and recycling
June 22, 2023 - 9:02 pm
I’ve seen recycling statistics from all sorts of different sources, including the EPA’s official website. Some people claim that of all the plastic that we put into our recycling bins, only about 5 percent actually gets recycled, and the rest goes to landfills.
Politically, I am conservative. But this is not about politics. It is about conserving our resources. I am very meticulous about my recycling, and where possible, I remove the label and wash the container before placing it in the bin. I make sure that everything that I consume that comes in a plastic bag, bottle or jug gets in the recycle bin. Am I wasting my time?
The statistics on the EPA website go up only to 2018. How is it possible that we don’t have statistics for the last five or six years? The site was also very unclear about how much gets recycled. It seemed to show a percentage recycled out of all plastics produced. But that is not my question. I want to know how many bottles that I put into the recycle bin actually get recycled. And if it’s not 100 percent, I want to know why.