- Flore Berlingenactivist and author, founder of the Observatory of the polluter pays principle.
When she was director of the NGO Zero Waste France, Flore Berlingen became interested in recycling. After becoming aware of the limits of the sector, she understood that it was a “cleverly maintained decoy” and published Recycling, the big smoke, how the circular economy has become the alibi for throwaways (Rue de l’échiquier, 2020).
Where recycling seems to emerge as a miracle solution to combat two major environmental problems: overconsumption of resources and overproduction of waste, it turns out to be ineffective.
The phone rings Listen later
Lecture listen 35 min
Recycling still consumes too much energy
Providing a very partial response, recycling processes which remain very resource and energy intensive do not constitute a sufficient outlet for the enormous quantity of plastic waste that we produce.
She writes: “In the race to recycle, the question of the social utility of the objects produced is no longer weighed against their social and environmental impact. We end up looking for ways to recycle what shouldn't even exist in the first place. The all-recycling policy is therefore not only insufficient, it has become counterproductive.”
Journalist Anne-Sophie Novel signs the investigation Plastic recycling: the lies of the petrochemical industry in October 2024 in the investigative media Disclose.
Earth squared Listen later
Lecture listen 54 min
It reveals in particular that to continue to flood the world with plastic with impunity, manufacturers are now extolling the virtues of “chemical recycling”. This method, which would allow us to infinitely reuse our plastic packaging and yogurt pots, is a mirage according to one survey published last June r by the ProPublica site where we find big names in oil, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies…
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