The Recycling Myth You Believe

Most people toss items into the blue bin and assume they are doing their part. The truth is far messier. Globally, only about 9 percent of all plastic ever produced has actually been recycled. The rest sits in landfills, floats in waterways, or has been burned.

Recycling rates vary wildly by material. Aluminum cans are the success story — roughly 75 percent of all aluminum ever made is still in circulation because melting it down costs 95 percent less energy than mining new ore.