In the three decades since Canada
pioneered blue box recycling, similar systems have become familiar sights in cities throughout the developed world. But the rise of recycling disguises an awkward truth: only 10 per cent of the plastic produced globally is put back into use. Even in a rich nation like Canada, where all but the most isolated communities can recycle, plastics are recovered at a much lower rate than materials like paper and metal.
Now technology is rising to meet the challenge posed by the enormous heap of plastic discarded into the environment every year, as well as materials that are collected but end up in landfill because they can’t be recycled economically.
