The War on Plastic is Protracted
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), each year, more than 25 million pounds of plastic end up in landfills, where it persists indefinitely.
By Bob Johnson, October 27, 2025.
In the ongoing environmental war against plastic, plastic is winning. Alternatives to plastic may reduce trash entering dump sites or oceans, but they don’t always work as well with fresh produce, and the cost of reducing, reusing, or recycling enough plastic to make a difference is prohibitive.
“Everybody is in favor of sustainability, but nobody wants to pay for it,”
says Steve Greenfield, director of sales and marketing at NNZ Packaging, Atlanta, GA.
According to the EPA’s latest estimate, released in November 2024, plastic generation increased from 25 million tons at the turn of the century to more than 35 million tons in 2018. And despite concerted efforts to promote recycling, less than 10% of that plastic was recycled in 2018.
Author's summary: Plastic waste persists due to high recycling costs.
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