With some clever use of Apple AirTags, environmental activists in the Houston area have found out that the city's recycling program isn't living up to its promises.
Brandi Deason was skeptical when she heard that “all plastics” would be “accepted,” even plastics that aren't typically thought of as recyclable. Recycling Program Sponsored by the City of Houston.
“We need a large supply of plastic to get ready to launch here, so we want to start preparing now to get ahead.”
He is an avid recycler, Climate Justice Coordinator Air Alliance Houston's Deason suspected that recyclable plastics weren't getting to recycling facilities, so she devised a strategy to confirm her suspicion: She dropped an Apple AirTag into 12 different recyclable plastics, CBS News Reporter Ben Tracy jokingly called her “Plastic Spy.”
Amazingly, nine of the 12 air tags – or 75 percent – were delivered to Rite Waste Management, a waste disposal facility about 20 miles from downtown Houston. Newsweek.
In 2022, Houston officials touted a cutting-edge new program from Cyclix International that will turn nearly all plastic into pellets that can be recycled. LinkedIn Profile Apparently related to this is Cyclyx, a “coalition of companies with the mission to help increase plastic recycling rates from 10% to 90%.”
In less than two years, Cyclix and the other companies involved in the Houston program have collected about 250 tons of plastic that has been sorted for recycling. Unfortunately, most of that plastic still isn't being recycled, and most Houston residents don't seem to realize it.
“I think they got the idea that it was being well taken care of and recycled,” Deason told CBS News of his fellow Houston residents.
In fact, much of the potentially recyclable plastic sits in stacks nearly 10 feet high at Wright's plant, awaiting sorting facilities that haven't yet been completed, according to drone footage captured by CBS News.
Ryan Tebbetts, vice president of Cyclix International, acknowledged to CBS News that the revolutionary plastic recycling program has never been tested on a large scale, but argued that most of the material at waste facilities will eventually be recycled.
“We need a large supply of plastics to be ready for the start-up here and we want to start preparing now to get ahead,” Tebbetts explained.
ExxonMobil, which is backing Cyclix, similarly maintains that “advanced recycling” is not a pipe dream but a current reality. “Advanced recycling is a reality. It's happening. We're living it,” said Ray Mastroleo, Exxon's global market development manager for advanced recycling.
Houston's solid waste manager, Mark Wilfork, wasn't too enthusiastic about the current state of the city's plastic recycling program. After viewing drone footage of the Wright plant, Wilfork acknowledged, “It's not a very pleasing looking place.”
Still, Wilfork thinks Wright is a good place to store the plastic for now. “We're going to stockpile it for now and see what happens,” he told Newsweek.
“This isn't an 'our fault' issue,” Deason told Newsweek. “This is an issue with the plastics industry overproducing something that we know can't be recycled.”
Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta is investigating claims made by ExxonMobil and Cyclix about plastic recycling, openly suggesting that some of the promises are largely illusory, AppleInsider reported.
Exxon's Mastroleo seemed to disagree, telling CBS News, “This is just a starting point and we're in this for the long haul.”
The Blaze News reached out to Deason for comment but did not receive a response. Newsweek also reached out to Right Waste Management and the Houston Office of Resilience and Sustainability for comment.
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