>>276031468
>Plastics are often not a win at all
It isn't or does it have to be? According to the article, recycling plastic "could" save 60% of the energy used to make more. What is the current net energy gain/loss?

>but we're not running out of empty land in the US so it's not really an issue
What about the rate? If net landfill space decreases over time, then eventually we will run out of it, because it is finite. And that's not the only problem is it? What about the gasses and pollution? 

>What's telling in that article is the last proposed benefit of recycling, "Getting everyone involved." It's a feel-good activity to get people in the environmentalist tent, not necessarily a real impactful way to fight climate change
I'm not so sure that's the right way to think about this issue of "activism". Ultimately the short term effect may not be beneficial, and it may even be destructive, but the long term effect should be that people modify their behavior, which becomes more important if/when methods used for recycling become more efficient.