(GUF) MORE PLASTIC

Plastic isn’t going anywhere. In fact, with global production set to double in the coming decades, planet Earth is on track for a world where plastic waste is as common as air and despite all the PR rhetoric about sustainability, the reality is that no large-scale, economically viable, truly circular solution exists today.

Recycling? A fraction of a fraction gets truly recycled, and even then, it degrades. Chemical recycling? Mostly smoke and mirrors; very expensive, inefficient, and often just another excuse to keep pumping out virgin plastic. Biodegradable plastics? Still plastic, still problematic and bans/taxes? They just shift the problem elsewhere.

The uncomfortable truth is that plastic production is tied to fossil fuels, and as long as it remains cheap and convenient, industry isn’t going to stop. The "solutions" we’re sold are mostly designed to maintain the status quo rather than disrupt it.

So where does that leave us? Is the future just an ocean of plastic and a landfill for every town? Or is it time to have some real, hard conversations about extended producer responsibility, material alternatives, and actual waste reduction—not just the illusion of it?

Cynicism in the waste industry? Surely not!

Every few years, some shiny new process; pyrolysis, gasification, chemical recycling, closed-loop systems get hyped as the solution to plastic waste. Yet, when it comes to scaling up, making it financially viable, and actually diverting meaningful volumes from incineration and landfill, the reality never quite matches the glossy brochures.

The trouble is, these methods can work in theory, in pilot plants, in controlled conditions, but throw in real world contamination, market economics, and the sheer logistical nightmare of waste collection and contractual obligations, and suddenly, it's not so simple. And let's be honest, a lot of these "innovations" have been more about securing funding, greenwashing, or PR than delivering real-world results.

Maybe the real question is: what needs to change? Policy? Investment? Public perception? Or do we just accept that some of these promises were never viable to begin with? More like this (waste plastic) - link - more like this (guff) - link