Not to get medieval and 1960s on you, but there is a certain karmic circulation manifesting itself on how comfortable each individual is based on the physical environment, aggregating and normalizing to an average comfort level per head in our civilization. If we take this average individual value over time, and we consider that the world's population is increasing exponentionally, then if each of us doesn't recycle at least some, life will become a real pain in the ass in our lifetime. If we all do a little, we can all do a lot. This sometimes nauseating public service announcement is heard on American noncommercial radio in association with a variety of environmental causes. Recycling is not a perfect art.
Recycling plastics is tricky.
A plastic is an organic polymeric solid. A common analogy used in science classrooms is that a polymer is like a giant bunch of spaghetti. Plastics generally retain structural integrity in the temperature range of -100 degrees Celsius to 200 degrees Celsius. Below this temperature range, plastics turn into glasses and shatter. The basic chemical truth is that most polymers act like Italian salad dressing when they are mixed together as liquids.