This won't come as a shock to most of my readers, but it was all a lie. I watched industry transform every form of packaging into plastic, only to later discover my naivete.

Recycling was corporate propaganda to gain public support for cheaper plastic packaging, propel a burgeoning petrochemicals industry, and offload accountability.

For decades, we've been force-fed a narrative of individual responsibility designed to protect corporate profits. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo founded "Keep America Beautiful", best known for its crying Indian (who is actually an Italian actor) PSA.

The Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra is a corporate shield to hide the fact that plastic recycling is technically unfeasible. Every time plastic is melted and reshaped, its polymer chains weaken. A high-quality PET bottle becomes fiber or fleece to make unrecyclable carpets and garments, which eventually hit the landfill. Globally, only 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled.

While distracted by personal responsibility, we feed the system by buying into its lies about its own actions. We consume more of its shit because, according to them, it smells better now.