5% worldwide? It absolutely matters where you live. Look at progressive countries and you will see that it is not that low a percentage when people actually make an effort: https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/environment/waste/waste-packaging/pong/tables-and-graphs/recycling-targets/
None of this knowledge is a reason to not use recycling when it is available. When you have a waste bin and a recycling bin and just put plastics in the waste, that's a douche move.
Welcome to earth. Here outside the US there are countries that recycle up to 35% of plastic waste and intend to recycle more through regulations on types of plastic used and improvements in processes. https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/environment/waste/waste-packaging/pong/tables-and-graphs/recycling-targets/
It's not dwindling, it's not dismal and it's certainly not pointless.
To bring it back: choosing to not recycle your plastic because you think only 5% of it will get recycled is indeed as stupid as throwing away your pizza crusts and thinking it doesn't contribute to food wastage.
Right. As I said (whether or not they have interest) the fix for usage, production and sorting is on them. Much like if you have plastics recycling available, it is absolutely on you to use it.
Plastic is a finite resource that is not going to disappear from global usage any time soon. Just throwing your hands up and saying "only x% actually gets recycled" or "where I live they don't do it well" is just adding to the existing problem.
Just fucking recycle.
Just imagine if all of these billionaires were actually paying tax instead of pumping hundreds of millions into political parties.
True, the best way to portion control any meal is to put 120% of your portion on a plate and eat the middle out of it until you get to 100%.
Yes there is a problem with more disposable, non-recyclable plastics being used. Of course that's on industry to fix. That does not mean plastic recycling is pointless. If you're in the privileged position to literally have a bin specifically for that, recyclable plastics will be filtered out and recycled. If you have that and they don't, that's on your municipality to fix. Deciding to not bother with the process which is right there in front of you because you read it's "not 100%" is super dumb.
That very much depends on where you live. Deciding to not recycle because you think it doesn't get done properly in your locality is just as dumb as not recycling because you think industry is a bigger polluter.
I understand that climate change isn't being entirely caused by you not recycling properly, but that doesn't mean it's not a shitty move to just say fuck it and not even bother trying.
This opinion is a similar vein as "there's no point recycling plastic because most plastic waste is caused by industry". We are all grains of sand on this earth. And in turn we are all full of microplastics.
I wouldn't be worried about Nickelodeon. With Mickey on the next poster over, Disney are already on their way to kill your wife.
Counterpoint: Society should be pressuring people not to increase food waste just because they can afford throw stuff away for no reason.
If you're already eating pizza then you're not really worried about carb intake.
Or, you know, someone in need nearby. There are homeless people eating out of garbage and families using food banks everywhere. But then you'd also look like an asshole for just giving them a bunch of crusts instead of a whole slice.
How about just not buying more food than you can eat? Or save a couple of slices for the next day? Or give someone else a slice before you fill up on the inner circle of your plate of food?