Houston, TX — What began as a simple curiosity turned into a full-blown exposé when Houston resident Brandy Deason used Apple’s AirTags to track her recycled plastic waste. The results were alarming and have shed light on a significant issue within the city's "all plastic accepted" recycling program.
Deason, who regularly participated in the city's recycling initiative, started to question where her plastic waste was actually going, especially since the program claimed to accept plastics that aren't typically recyclable. To uncover the truth, she embedded AirTags into various bags of her recycling, tracking them to their final destination.
Her findings led to a company called Wright Waste Management in Harris County, a facility that is neither approved to store plastic waste nor compliant with fire safety standards, having failed three fire inspections. Drone footage of the site revealed massive piles of plastic waste, some towering 10 feet high.
Deason, dubbed "the James Bond of plastic recycling" by CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy, found the situation "kind of strange" and decided to confront Houston's Director of Solid Waste Management, Mark Wilfalk, with her findings. When presented with the drone footage, Wilfalk conceded that the site was "not the most desirable-looking" and pledged to investigate the issues further.
Shockingly, Wilfalk later admitted that since the end of 2022, the city had amassed 250 tons of plastic, none of which had been recycled. Instead, it was being stockpiled, awaiting the opening of a sorting facility by a company called Cyclix. This facility is supposed to convert the waste into recyclable pellets, but the reality is grim: only a small portion of these pellets can be recycled into new plastic, while the majority will be melted down and turned into fuel, contributing to carbon emissions.
The story has taken on an even more concerning dimension as California Attorney General Rob Bonta investigates claims by Cyclix's owner, ExxonMobil, about plastic recycling in California. Bonta has characterized these claims as largely fictional, further calling into question the effectiveness and honesty of such recycling programs.
As Houston waits for the promised sorting facility to open, the city’s residents are left questioning the integrity of their recycling efforts. Meanwhile, Apple continues to set a standard in the industry by reducing plastic use in its products and packaging, investing in innovative recycling technologies to minimize waste.