That's not a conspiracy LOL, there's plenty of greenwashing around that costs more in environmental effects than if we'd just partied like it's 1977.

This isn’t a conspiracy at all. Plastic recycling was originally driven by plastic producers, to shift the blame for pollution away from themselves. Basically, it was a way for the producers to go “it’s not our fault the world is full of plastic. It’s the consumer’s fault for failing to recycle all of it!” They saw the inevitable plastic mountain on the horizon, and took steps to ensure they weren’t going to be blamed for it.

And make a little money on the side.

https://drwho.virtadpt.net/archive/2025-05-05/thinking-about-this-and-that/