Is recycling a waste of time?

Process has both advantages and disadvantages in push to save our planet

Workers sort recycling on conveyor belt
Research from Wrap, a climate action charity, has found that 82% of UK households regularly add at least one item to their recycling collection that’s not accepted locally
(Image credit: Peter Dazeley / Getty Images)

Boris Johnson triggered controversy in the run-up to Cop26 by telling a group of schoolchildren that recycling plastic “doesn’t work”.

Answering questions from children at Downing Street in October, the prime minister said that recycling was “not the answer” to threats to ocean ecosystems and that instead “we’ve all got to cut down our use of plastic”.

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Julia O'Driscoll is the engagement editor. She covers UK and world news, as well as writing lifestyle and travel features. She regularly appears on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast, and hosted The Week's short-form documentary podcast, “The Overview”. Julia was previously the content and social media editor at sustainability consultancy Eco-Age, where she interviewed prominent voices in sustainable fashion and climate movements. She has a master's in liberal arts from Bristol University, and spent a year studying at Charles University in Prague.