There's a certain sense of virtue that comes from flinging an item into a recycle bin. "At least I'm not throwing it away," you might think.
But even before China clamped down on the recyclable materials it would accept, we were lagging behind other countries in recycling. About 34% of our materials get recycled, a much lower rate than, for example, Germany's 65%.
Why don't we recycle more? Confusion is one reason, suggests Beth Porter. She runs a websiteon recycling and just put out a book, Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System. Here's a chance to get your questions answered, about recycled materials and where they go.