DeSmog: ‘Maddening’ Proof Plastics Industry Knew Recycling Was False Solution in 1974, New Document Shows

With international treaty negotiations aimed at addressing the plastic pollution crisis (collapsing with no agreement) in Switzerland , a new document reveals that one of the world’s largest plastic producers, DuPont, acknowledged as early as 1974 that recycling its plastic products was not feasible. This new discovery also comes against the backdrop of two pending lawsuits alleging that U.S. plastic producers have deceived the public about the feasibility of recycling since the 1980s. For decades, the plastics industry has publicly advocated recycling as a strategy for managing plastic waste. But the document, a letter written in May 1974 by Charles Brelsford McCoy, a president and board chairman of DuPont, represents the earliest evidence to date of a top-level industry insider admitting that many commonly used plastic products will not be recycled due to their complex chemical structures. More INFO.