Yeah usually it's a question of does this pass the smell test, "every expert and sanitation workers who actually see it firsthand are saying one thing, but we tested it and they're all wrong!" is like hmmm....
Exactly
I would be wary of things that purport to be plastics recycling, as the two main issues are 1. It's still cheaper to make new things rather than recycle 2. The recycled plastic is generally less versatile, which is why you'll see it in things like Frisbees and knick-knacks.
It completely depends on the product. For example aluminum is vastly easier to recycle than to make new. For plastics it depends on the plastic, but there is always a way. For example, trash panda managed to recycle Crocs, which are an expanded foam plastic. It was not recyclable on its own, it wouldn’t melt down into an injection moldeable plastic, but they managed to use it as an aggregate, kinda like concrete. I don’t agree that it’s less versatile. It’s just more work that companies don’t want to do so they say it’s not possible.
Not to say it isn't something we should be doing when it's feasible, but it's sort of like going from ICE cars to electric cars, where we're putting a band-aid on the problem instead of switching to something that isn't as destructive.
The thing is, plastic isn’t going anywhere. It’s embedded into every part of our lives, both bad uses and good uses. We need to find a way to stop making more of it. It’s wild that we bury so much trash instead of trying to recover it.