Selling a mirage.

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The Big Story
Thu. Jun 20, 2024

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The Delusion of “Advanced” Plastic Recycling <[link removed]> by Lisa Song, Illustrations by Max Gunther, special to ProPublica

The plastics industry is heralding pyrolysis as nothing short of a miracle: The “advanced” type of recycling uses heat to break plastic all the way down to its molecular building blocks.

Given the high stakes of this moment, I set out to understand exactly what the world is getting out of this recycling technology. For months, I tracked press releases, interviewed experts, tried to buy plastic made via pyrolysis and learned more than I ever wanted to know about the science of recycled molecules.

Under all the math and engineering, I found an inconvenient truth: Not much is being recycled at all, nor is pyrolysis capable of curbing the plastic crisis.

Not now. Maybe not ever.

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527 Explorer

How a Network of Nonprofits Enriches Fundraisers While Spending Almost Nothing on Its Stated Causes

The vast majority of money raised by a network of connected political nonprofits identified by ProPublica went to support fundraising efforts. Only a small amount went to media and outreach, according to the groups’ IRS filings.

Chart showing how much money went to fundraising. <[link removed]>
*This includes website services, book production, advertising, billboards, and voter advocacy and outreach. Figures are rounded. (Source: ProPublica analysis of expenditures by 527 groups)

Read the investigation <[link removed]>

More From Our Newsroom

Introducing ProPublica’s 527 Explorer <[link removed]> Nonprofits known as 527s can raise unlimited sums for political spending. ProPublica is releasing a new database that will allow journalists, researchers and others to more easily search these organizations’ finances. by Ruth Talbot and Brandon Roberts <[link removed]>

Nine Takeaways From Our Investigation Into Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Failures <[link removed]> What you need to know about how a whistleblower repeatedly tried to get the software giant to fix a security flaw that left millions of Microsoft users exposed. by ProPublica <[link removed]>

When Therapists Lose Their Licenses, Some Turn to the Unregulated Life Coaching Industry Instead <[link removed]> Despite past misconduct, some former therapists have continued their careers as life coaches. Now, after a high-profile conviction in Utah, legislators are asking whether it’s time for more oversight. by Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune <[link removed]>

North Carolina Supreme Court Secretly Squashed Discipline of Two GOP Judges Who Admitted to Violating Judicial Code <[link removed]> The decisions came despite the Judicial Standards Commission’s recommendations to publicly reprimand the judges, and these are likely the only times in more than a decade in which the court didn’t follow the commission’s guidance. by Doug Bock Clark <[link removed]>

What a Leading State Auditor Says About Fraud, Government Misspending and Building Public Trust <[link removed]> We spoke to a leading state auditor about how remote work and artificial intelligence are ushering in new kinds of fraud in state and local governments. by McKenzie Funk <[link removed]>

Microsoft President Grilled by Congress Over Cybersecurity Failures <[link removed]> The criticism from members of the House Homeland Security Committee came in response to a ProPublica investigation that found Microsoft repeatedly rebuffed an engineer’s warnings that a product flaw had left millions of users vulnerable to attack. by Renee Dudley <[link removed]>

Harlan Crow Provided Clarence Thomas at Least 3 Previously Undisclosed Private Jet Trips, Senate Probe Finds <[link removed]> The Supreme Court justice flew to Montana and other destinations on the billionaire GOP donor’s dime. Crow’s lawyer revealed these flights to the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose ongoing investigation was sparked by ProPublica’s reporting. by Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski <[link removed]>

Whistleblower Says Microsoft Dismissed Warnings About a Security Flaw That Russians Later Used to Hack U.S. Government <[link removed]> Former employee says software giant dismissed his warnings about a critical flaw because it feared losing government business. Russian hackers later used the weakness to breach the National Nuclear Security Administration, among others. by Renee Dudley, with research by Doris Burke <[link removed]>

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