Recycling Theater: Plastic as a Climate Solution? The Carbon Tunnel Vision Scam That Saved Oil While the Oceans Choked
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――― Recycling Theater Disclaimer This piece is written in cinematic, narrative style. All statistics, recycling rates, plant closures, policy dates, corporate actions, and documented quotes are drawn from public records and cited in the master source list at the end of the story. Opening and closing scenes are dramatized composites of real, verified events — not literal footage of one specific moment or facility. ――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――― Lights up on COP28, Dubai, December 2023. A giant pavilion shaped like a PET bottle. The sign above the door reads: “Plastic: Part of the Climate Solution” Act I — The Perfect Crime (2021–2023) The science was brutal: Plastic production is on track to consume 20–25 % of the entire global carbon budget by 2050 (Lawrence Berkeley 2023, IPCC AR6). The industry needed a new identity, fast. They chose: climate hero. Th...