I recognize the sarcasm in your first sentence, but I am not super hopeful. The question is always, "so now it breaks down...into what? And what happens to that

I recognize the sarcasm in your first sentence, but I am not super hopeful. The question is always, "so now it breaks down...into what? And what happens to that?". If that gives rise to the equivalent of some kind of algal bloom that then kills off other life, it might actually be worse than the microplastics themselves. I for one do not hold out hope for recycling plastics. We had more sustainable materials in the past, and in places we still do that. For example, reusing beer bottles with the Pfand system in Germany, or milk bottles, crates, durable packaging. We're still going backwards with this consumerist throwaway culture.