Search for: Search SUPPORT IRW INVESTIGATIONS NEWS BLOG ABOUT IRW BANKTRACKER SEARCH WHERE DOES PLASTIC GO? A combination picture shows plastics sorted inside baskets at a collecting site in Indonesia. (Willy Kurniawan / REUTERS) Plastics industry insiders reveal the truth about recycling. By IRW staff Published April 1, 2020 Categories FRONTLINE Oversight Share this story more Plastics industry insiders reveal the truth about recycling in “Plastic Wars,” a new program from PBS FRONTLINE and NPR in collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Workshop. “Plastic Wars” looks at how the plastics industry has used recycling to help sell more plastic — and why the plastic waste problem has only grown. The one-hour program, which aired March 31, 2020, is a collaboration among the Washington PBS FRONTLINE team, NPR and the Investigative Reporting Workshop. The seven-month investigation took the investigative team to Oregon, Washington, D.C., and Indonesia, where much of the U.S. waste now lands. RELATED STORIES FROM FRONTLINE, NPR AND IRW: An overview of the program, which found that insiders always doubted the economic viability of recycling, even as they promoted it. And made money making more plastic. A guide to when recycling works best. A look at promises major companies have made in the past and are committing to in 2020. How the industry spent millions promoting plastic, only to sell more. How big oil misled the public. IRW also plans to host a screening and meet-the-producers event in September. The date and details will be announced later this year, and the program, at American University, will be free and open to the public. Tags: FRONTLINE, NPR, Plastic Wars, recycling TOP NEWS AND INVESTIGATIONS ‘Dying in silence’ Damage doesn’t dim CEO pay New laws reveal dark path for Afghan media FEC stuck on the sidelines MORE NEWS | MORE INVESTIGATIONS FOLLOW US Sign up for IRW newsletters & alerts Submit OUR PARTNERS The Washington Post When Cops Are Fired: How one attorney forces police chiefs to rehire dismissed officers. Frontline Where does plastic go? Plastics industry insiders reveal the truth about recycling. NPR Blackout in Puerto Rico: Examining the federal response to the humanitarian and economic crises in Puerto Rico. inewsource The New Americans: How San Diego grapples with educating refugees. SPECIAL PROJECTS 1 billion records and counting: The Accountability Project reaches new milestone Share this story more Two years after going live, TAP hits a major milestone. Site showcases powerful stories and the reporters behind them Share this story more Investigating Power is a history of breakthrough investigations that revealed news and changed the national narrative on many major topics since the 1950s, from war to health to civil rights. How Trump is shaping immigration policy Share this story more An interactive timeline examines President Trump’s use of executive orders to restrict access to the U.S. The Opioid Epidemic Share this story more In April 2016, at the height of the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history, Congress effectively stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its most potent weapon against large drug companies suspected of spilling prescription narcotics onto the nation’s streets. Legal Privacy Policy Publish Our Stories Contact IRW INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING WORKSHOP 4400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE. NW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20016-8017 © 2008-2021 Investigative Reporting Workshop