Until moving to Germany in late 2013, I thought about plastics like most Americans – plastics are a convenient material to use and a persistent environmental pollutant. The solid waste our family generated every day did not bother me very much because I knew it was being properly landfilled, and we were properly disposing of recyclable materials whenever we could (paper, pop cans, etc.). Upon our return, however, my three-year German experience caused me to reconsider America’s waste problem and to seriously challenge my thoughts on recycling. Please allow me to explain.
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