While I dutifully put plastic, glass, metal cans and paper into my recycling container, I often wonder how much of this material actually gets recycled. Steel and aluminum cans I understand can be readily recycled, but what about glass and in particular plastic and paper products? I suspicion much of the paper and glass as well as many plastics eventually end up in landfills as the cost of transporting them to recycling facilities as well as reclaiming the material would be prohibitive.
“I often wonder how much of this material actually gets recycled.”
We used to send the low grade stuff to China, but they stopped taking it in 2017, IIRC. I would not be surprised if it goes in the landfill no.
I wonder what happens over geological time when you bury this stuff. It seems to me it would be the reverse of extracting oil and coal. People should be happy with that.