The recycling bin — many of us have learned to view this humble container as an environmental superhero. It is, after all, the critical first step in turning our trash into… well, not treasure, but at least more stuff. Or is it?

In this episode, we take a look at the science, help you understand whether recycling is an environmental boon or hindrance, and we open up the pandora's box that is plastic. We also dive into what recycling has to do with tackling climate change.

Calls to Action

Check out the Break Free from Plastic campaign
Contact your congress people and ask them to push for the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act
If there’s a product or a brand that you love, reach out to that company and ask them to change their packaging
Check out Loop, a store that ships your favorite products to you in refillable containers that they take back, wash, and reuse
Check out Deia Schlossberg’s film, The Story of Plastic

If you take an action we recommend in one of our episodes, do us a favor and tell us about it! We’d love to hear how it went and what it felt like. Record a short voice memo on your phone and send it to us via our Listener Mail Form. We might use it in an upcoming episode.

Check out our Calls to Action archive here for all of the actions we've recommended on the show. Sign up for our newsletter here. And follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

This episode of How to Save a Planet was produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis. The rest of our reporting and producing team includes Rachel Waldholz, Anna Ladd and Felix Poon. Our senior producer is Lauren Silverman. Our editor is Caitlin Kenney. Sound design and mixing by Peter Leonard with original music from Emma Munger.

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S9E2: Melanie Keen