They take thousands of years to decompose in a landfill. Out in the real world they decompose much faster thanks to environmental factors(mostly physical abrasi

They take thousands of years to decompose in a landfill. Out in the real world they decompose much faster thanks to environmental factors(mostly physical abrasion). They break down into microplastics and chemicals which mimic hormones, among other issues. Any reduction in new plastic is offset by people using more plastic because they think it's recycled. Again, the goal is to remove plastic entirely from the ecosystem. Recycling encourages more plastic use. That is the entire reason that plastic manufacturers and petrocompanies pushed for plastic recycling so hard, people use more plastic if they think it's recycled. The only real solution are plastic bans in consumer goods/spaces.