The 21st Show

Best of: Rethinking Recycling

Produced by Brian Mackey
 
Manuel Rene Del Carmen organizes bags of recyclables and throws them into their allotted storage spaces at the Sure We Can recycling depot, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in the Bushwick neighborhood of New York.

Manuel Rene Del Carmen organizes bags of recyclables and throws them into their allotted storage spaces at the Sure We Can recycling depot, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in the Bushwick neighborhood of New York. AP Photo

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Editor's Note: this segment originally aired in April 2021. 

Even if we’re careful about sorting paper from plastic and washing that plastic, what really happens to our recycling? The 21st spoke to an associate professor at Northern Illinois University to hear more about problems with recycling and consequences of bad sorting. 

Guest:

Courtney Gallaher, Associate Professor at Northern Illinois University in the Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences and the Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality

 

Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi

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