A fleet of new plastics plants in the U.S. often release illegal levels of air pollution, even while receiving big tax breaks from state and local governments, the report found.
Recycling "does not solve the solid waste problem," the head of a plastics trade group said in 1989, around the time the industry was launching its recycling campaign.
Other items like water or soda bottles or snack bags aren't banned yet. But the government has set targets for manufacturers to be responsible for recycling or disposing of them after their use.
