The Hidden Cost of Recycling: Why Compostable Alternatives Are the Real Solution

Welcome back to One Less Bag, where this week we discuss one of the biggest misconceptions in the sustainability conversation: recycling. For years, we’ve been told that recycling is the solution to the plastic crisis. Toss your bottles and bags into the blue bin and they’ll get a second life, right?

Unfortunately, the reality paints a very different picture — and it’s one that reveals why compostable alternatives are the real way forward. 

The Recycling Myth 

Globally, less than 10% of all plastic waste is actually recycled. The rest is landfilled, incinerated, or shipped overseas — often to countries with limited waste management infrastructure. Recycling also consumes vast amounts of energy, water, and money. Even when successful, plastics rarely come back as equal products; most are downcycled into lower-quality materials that can’t be recycled again. 

The result? A costly system that still leaves our landfills and oceans full of plastic. 

A Better Way: Compostable Solutions 

Unlike plastic, compostable products return to nature safely. Plastech’s zero plastic, plant-based products are: 

• 100% home compostable — no industrial facility required. 

• Degradable in 180 days — leaving behind zero microplastics. 

• Soil-enhancing — breaking down into natural materials that enrich the earth. 

• Landfill safe — even if they don’t reach a compost bin, they won’t release harmful toxins. 

  
  

This is what a true circular economy looks like: products designed to work with nature instead of against it. 

The Real Solution to Plastic Waste 

Recycling still has a role, but it cannot keep up with the billions of tons of plastic produced annually. Compostable alternatives, on the other hand, directly address the waste problem at its source. They eliminate microplastics, reduce landfill dependency, and create healthier soil for future generations. 

At Plastech, we believe it’s time to move beyond the recycling myth and embrace real solutions. Every compostable bag, glove, straw, or container you choose is one less plastic item polluting our planet — and one more step toward sustainability.