http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-pacific-ocean-cleanup-20180908-story.html
Two Texases' worth of plastic is floating in the Pacific. A new device will spend 20 years trying to clean it.
It takes some effort to recycle just my plastic waste, and I use tapwater for cooking and drinking. It takes some effort to clean and dry it rather than just toss in the trash like I did for years. Glad to make the effort though.
Single use bottles make me mad. I drink this Pure Leaf tea in some really attractive bottles, wish I could reuse them for something. The bottoms are nice and square, and I thought it might be nice to keep planters tidy by poking drainage holes and filling with potting soil, fit the bottles in with plants or seeds and cover with more soil. Would have to cut the tops of the bottles off with my hot blade.
Could winter sow them too, partially cutting the tops and leaving the caps off like they do with milk jugs (and I did a lot of it but haven't the last few winters).
Recycled plastic is suitable for nothing. Most of it gets landfilled while you are looking the other way.