A new report published last month by the U.S.-based Center for Climate Integrity has made some explosive accusations against the petrochemical industry, accusing it of a “decades-long campaign of fraud and deception about the recyclability of plastics.” More than 99% of plastics are produced from fossil fuels, the report notes, and the “vast majority” cannot be processed and remanufactured into new products. …The dismal numbers add an alarming dimension to the growing evidence that plastic is not only toxic to the environment and human health, but difficult to dispose of, too. …Even the plastic waste correctly labelled as recyclable is, in fact, not recyclable forever. “The reality is that plastics can only be recycled – or more accurately ‘downcycled’ – once, rarely twice,” the report points out. “For this reason, plastics have a linear rather than circular lifespan – when viable, recycling provides only a brief delay on their inevitable journey to landfills.” [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]