Is plastic waste actually recycled or does it just go to landfills and then perhaps exported abroad? This specific question was asked by a citizen of the city of Houston, Texas, who found it strange that the local government had set up an “all plastics accepted” recycling program. According to city officials, any type of plastic can now be donated, even those that usually have no recycling options. Brandy Deason, who is usually one of the busiest recyclers in her neighborhood, wanted to examine it more closely and to do so she used a special device: Apple’s Bluetooth and ultra-wideband tracker AirTag. The candy-sized devices now cost less than $30 in the United States and have been known to help solve numerous crimes and other misdeeds in the past.
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AirTags lead to a collection warehouse
During his spying project, Dessen simply hid several trackers in his plastic trash and then watched where it was taken. Like a citizen Station CBS News announced that almost all of the plastic collection ended up in a company located about 30 km from downtown Houston. And as it turned out later, nothing was done with the waste: the company, a garbage disposal company, left the plastic lying on its premises – without a roof.
This is said to have been the case for about a year and a half. As the City of Houston and its business partners, including oil company ExxonMobil, are calling the project a “new frontier in recycling,” apparently it only poses a fire hazard. According to CBS News, inspections by the fire department have failed three times and an official storage permit is still missing.
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Meanwhile, the Houston city government has also admitted that no recycling is taking place. Since the end of 2022, more than 250 tons have been collected. The city manager responsible for solid waste said, “We’ll store it for now and then see what happens.”
Desson, on the other hand, is happy to have solved the case. She herself is active in an organization that campaigns for better air in Houston and has already fought against plants that release too many emissions from chemical recycling. A CBS News reporter described her in a TV report as the “James Bond of plastic recycling”. She is “some kind of plastic detective.” Desson replied with a smile: “Yeah, I think so too.”
(B.Sc.)
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