The recycling symbol is reassuring to find on the bottom of plastic containers — that triangle of three arrows with a number in the middle. It enables consumers to keep buying plastic and tossing it into the blue bin.
However, the plastic industry knew all along that most plastic can’t be recycled. This was discovered by NPR’s Laura Sullivan and PBS’s Frontline. Together, they combed through thousands of documents and spoke to the people involved in this massive deception.
This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.