Why is it still so hard to recycle plastic

Recycling is one of the most complex industries in the US. It’s highly localized and not all that profitable. So what’s actually going on? I followed the entire lifecycle of a plastic bottle to find out. Follow Macy and Dylan    / @macyagilliam     / macyagilliam     / dylanoza   Ever wonder who pays me what in these videos? I’ll tell you! No one paid us anything to make this. We (Morning Brew) funded this entirely and retain full editorial control. Republic did give us that cool little lego truck, though. Intro music by Caleb Moore https://open.spotify.com/artist/5MvhD... Further reading Glass Half Full https://glasshalffull.co/ Professor Lily’s book, Resisting Garbage https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477323... Citizen Coke https://bookshop.org/p/books/citizen-... Coca-Cola lowers ambition with new 2035 packaging sustainability targets https://www.wastedive.com/news/coca-c... Wayback machine link for Coke’s World Without Waste https://web.archive.org/web/201801191... More on New Orleans recycling City Council decision to drop universal recycling program followed opposition from waste haulers https://veritenews.org/2026/03/13/cit... You had questions about recycling in New Orleans. Here’s what we know. https://veritenews.org/2026/04/06/rec... As deadline approaches, mayor seeks to revive no-cost federal grant for universal recycling — but does not want money for carts https://veritenews.org/2026/03/31/new... Chapters 00:00-01:35 intro 01:36-03:20 zero waste pt 1 03:21-04:50 riding in the truck 04:51-08:25 how recycling gets sorted 08:26-11:43 polymer center 11:44-15:51 coke bottling plant 15:52-18:29 trash professor 18:30-19:18 zero waste pt 2 19:19-20:13 nawlins zero waste 20:14-26:42 glass half full 26:43-26:56 end of zero waste 26:57-29:25 trash professor pt 2 29:26-30:49 TLDR 30:50-31:58 sci fi movie Subscribe to Morning Brew Sign up for free today: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/sub... Follow The Brew! Instagram -   / morningbrew   Twitter -   / morningbrew   Tik Tok -   / morningbrew