If there is less demand for plastic in general, then that means there could be less demand for recycling (properly sorted) old plastic to produce new plastic goods.
We recycle less than 10% of our plastic. And of that, very little goes back to producing the same products -- plastic is typically degraded when recycled and converted from food packaging down into benches or clothing, both of which will shed microplastics into the environment before being sent to the landfill.
Plastic recycling is not an eternal loop like metal recycling can be. It's almost entirely downcycling when it happens at all.
Plastic recycling is not an eternal loop like metal recycling can be. It's almost entirely downcycling when it happens at all.