 In 2010, each European threw away 28 kilograms of plastic packaging. A decade later, this had grown to almost 35 kilograms. For mobile phones to toothpaste, the human species has become addicted to plastics. The biggest problem? Single-use plastics, aka waste waiting to happen. Industry, oil and gas companies, which produce plastic but also consumer brands that use it for packaging, says there is nothing to worry about. Plastics can be a part of the circular economy where products are recycled and not wasted, they say. Investigate Europe journalists tested this claim. They visited recycling plants, incinerators and juggled with data sets of plastic waste exports. Their conclusion? We are fooling ourselves. The whole disposal system is run by the brands that use plastic for packaging, like Coca-Cola. But those who produce the plastic have an interest in feeding more and more plastic into the system as this increases profits. As one source said, you can't ask the butcher to promote veganism. Deposit and return systems where consumers are paid for returning plastic bottles to supermarkets are successful in northern Europe, but they are fought against by industry in the south. And even recycled plastics are imperfect, with some containing more toxic chemicals than before. For decades, Europe used to sweep the plastics problem under the carpet by exporting plastics waste to China. But in 2018, China banned this. Now there are plans to build incinerators in Eastern Europe in order to ship waste inside the EU. But who controls what these waste shipments contain? Inspections are minimal in almost every country. Studies say even modern incinerators emit pollutants. What went in may not have been toxic, but what comes out often is. The circular economy is a loop that leaks. It also grows bigger and bigger and bigger.