> We need laws to standardize plastics so that only purely recyclable plastics exist and no more single-use plastics, or compostable containers. Anything else should be banned.

Do you have any idea how much this would change the world, if it were implemented?

Say goodbye to many if not most medical plastics - especially those use for artificial joints and similar implantable devices.

Say hello to much heavier engines in automobiles and other devices (until batteries get much, much better - which is on the horizon, and hopefully soon - the IC engine is here to stay for the foreseeable future). Oh - and those batteries also use a lot of plastic, and I am not sure you can make them with recyclable versions.

Say hello to increased fuel usage and shipping costs for all kinds of products because they couldn't be made of recyclable or compostable plastics, and had to be made of other materials.

Most "engineering plastics" - those plastics made for harsh environments and/or uses that have thermal cycling of the environment, or need high mechanical strength - generally tend to be made from single-use plastics; this is because when you recycle plastic - most plastics, actually - their chemical bonds are broken and reformed, in addition to the mixing of various binders and other substances that exist in various plastics - even recyclable - that are used to give the plastic various properties (ie - one manufacturer's PET may not match another manufacturer's in makeup) - this process all adds up to a plastic that, while recycled, has varying properties, generally is a weaker form of plastic, and is difficult to control those properties due to the variability of the recycled feedstock component. Even then, today, there are very few "100% recycled plastic" products; most have so-called "virgin" plastic mixed in to compensate for the variable content of the recycled materials, and to make up for the deficits caused by that. Those products that tend to be "100% recycled" are generally "low-end products" or used as filler material for other products.

Think of paper recycling: Where does the recycled paper get used in 100% recycled paper? Most likely low cost paper for low-end paper books, grey paper for wrapping or other uses, maybe certain paper bags, maybe insulation. Do you recall the low-grade lined paper in grade school, that was grey, and passed out for quick quizzes, or for spelling practice? That was all 100% recycled paper pulp. It tore easily, it tended to be thin, it looked terrible. But for the use it was perfect - but you wouldn't fill a binder or other notebook with it. The reason it had those unfavorable properties had to do with the variability of paper recycling; basically the same issue behind recycling plastic. And so we see similar results with recycled plastic.

Also - each time you recycle the plastic, the worse the end product gets; you can only abuse those molecules and such so much by the reformation process before it becomes completely useless...

So-called compostable plastics have their own issues; they are really just as long-lived as non-compostable plastics, unless they are exposed and worked in the right environment (a landfill is not the right environment). Sadly, this is rarely done. It probably has to do with the costs or other reasons to make such a composting system for such plastics; I've never heard exactly why, I just know that the plastic doesn't really decompose unless in just the right environmental conditions which are rarely met in the real world.

Do we need to do something different in regards to our plastics usage and recycling? Yes - but elimination and bans won't get us there. Switching to pure compostable or recyclable plastics isn't possible, unless you want to eliminate a ton of industries, products, and uses (especially medical).