“The label that something is ‘recycled’ is a signal that it’s eco-friendly. Sure, it’s good to give things a second life. It’s certainly better than burning more oil from scratch to make a new version. But we can’t just recycle plastic over and over – at least when it comes to mechanical recycling, the type most countries rely on. **When people recycle a plastic bottle they imagine it becomes another plastic bottle. It doesn’t. It gets degraded and is used for something lower quality**. Most plastics can only be recycled once or twice, then they’re sent to landfill. ([Location 3684](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B0C3X6X695&location=3684))” --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[recycling]], [[pollution]], [[plastics]], [[signalling]] **Source** -- [[260103133118 - B - Not the End of the World]]