Susanna Lakely
2/04/2026 6:44 PM
I chose to watch the PBS Frontline documentary Plastic Wars to help me understand what happens to the plastics we recycle. I learned that only certain plastics, like water bottles and milk jugs, can actually be recycled in most places. A lot of other everyday use items, like food packaging, single use plastic bags, and Ziploc bags, can’t be recycled at all. The film also explains how plastics are transported and sorted at recycling plants, and it shows how complicated this process is.
One of the most surprising things I learned is that the plastic industry has promoted recycling mainly to keep producing more plastic. The documentary shows that companies knew recycling wouldn’t solve the problem, but they encouraged it anyway so people would feel better about using plastic. This allowed them to avoid stricter rules and continue to make more products.
The main message of the documentary is that recycling alone is not enough to fix the plastic crisis. To really help the environment, we need to reduce how much plastic we use.