Recycling woes lead to plastic pollution of world's waters | Letters

Recycling myth means choking on plastics

Like millions of other civic-minded citizens, ever since recycling became available, I have been avid about it. Sadly, I have recently been made aware that the recycling of plastic is a myth. Only 5% of plastic that we put in our bins is used by American companies making products such as fibers and outdoor lumber. The rest is being shipped to Third World countries in Southeast Asia and almost all of it ends up in the ocean. We need to do all we can to avoid disposable plastics and when we cannot, put them in the trash. It is better to see them put in a landfill than polluting our oceans. Let's stop feeding the trash pile in the Pacific.

Jeffrey B. Brown, Palm Beach Gardens

More: SWA recycling rate No. 1 out of 67 counties; surpasses state goal for second straight year

The public needs better elected officials

Why is it difficult for politicians to pass legislation that most Americans agree on? One, the public wants girls and women to have a choice about terminating an unwanted or unhealthy pregnancy through the first trimester of a pregnancy, especially for rape and incest. Two, they want assault weapons off the streets in America. There are plenty of surveys that show this is true, while politicians think they know better. These problems can be fixed if our representatives would pay attention to what the people want and not what they or their donors want.

Edith Davis, Jupiter

Another Trump presidency? Really?

So the recent polls show Donald Trump would beat Joe Biden if next year’s election were held now. Apparently, most Americans don’t recall Trump’s bungled response to the COVID crisis and don’t recognize his early economic success was a direct result of doing nothing more than allowing the policies the Obama administration established to play themselves out.

So you want Trump? Here are a few things you can expect: A quick move to autocracy. Trump has promised to weaponize the U.S. Department of Justice to go after his enemies, starting with Biden and including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. The guardrails set up by staff and Cabinet members won’t exist this time, as he’s made clear only his loyalists will work in his administration. There’s more but you get the picture. Wake up America.

Brian Biggane, Boynton Beach

Sen. Scott's debt pitch a little flat

Sen. Rick Scott has been running ads that lay out his strategy for his upcoming election campaign. Among his points is the federal debt is out of control. Ironically, he is against the IRS hiring new workers to enforce the tax laws against high net-worth individuals, large corporations, and complex partnerships that today pay far less than they owe.

Scott is a high net-worth individual. In 1997, his healthcare company Columbia/HCA reached a $1.7 billion settlement of federal charges of fraudulent billing and practices by its hospitals to Medicare and Medicaid and other government health programs. I wonder why the richest man in Congress is so opposed to more IRS agents? He neglects to say why this wouldn't assist in paying down the nation's debt. Scott says we need to "cowboy up." I'd certainly like to see him show us how.

Ritchie McHam, Lake Park

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Recycling falters while world chokes on plastics pollution