If we are trying to get rid of carbon, why is it worse to put plastic in landfill than recycle it?

Question

Wouldn’t it be better to bury as much of it deep underground as possible and seal it off?

edit – I should add that I do reuse and recycle, and I use as little plastic as I can afford to in the first place. I am just curious about this aspect

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

How does burying plastic remove carbon from the atmosphere?

Producing new plastic is not a process friendly to the environment. Recycling plastic reduces the demand for new plastic.