Many people are unaware that plastic can typically only be recycled once or twice into a new product. Every time plastic is recycled, the polymer chain grows shorter, causing its quality to deteriorate to the point where it cannot be used anymore. This common misconception that plastic can be recycled indefinitely leads some to justify the excessive use of single-use plastics under the belief that they are recyclable and therefore not contributing to waste. However, regardless of how much plastic we recycle, the demand for plastic remains high, resulting in continued pollution of landfills and oceans, along with increasing emissions that harm our environment.

In fact, out of all the plastic waste generated between 1950 and 2015, only 9% was actually recycled. Despite 65 years of recycling efforts, the plastic pollution crisis persists. Isn't it time we transitioned from non-essential plastic to sustainable alternatives?  Of course, we’re not suggesting that you should stop recycling plastic – all recycling is definitely a step in the right direction. But what we need to do is stop depending so heavily on non-essential plastic, and instead, help to prevent waste entirely. We are not suggesting that you should stop recycling plastic altogether. Every recycling effort is indeed a step in the right direction. However, what we truly need is to reduce our dependence on non-essential plastic and actively work towards preventing waste from being generated in the first place.