Fortune - USA (2020-04)

CLIMATE CHANGE

OVERFLOW

Plastic waste

in Smithtown,

N.Y., where

plunging prices

have pushed

the recycling

system beyond

its limits.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

THE PULITZER CENTER ON CRISIS REPORTING

y that handles all that waste is on the verge of collapse.

BY VIVIENNE WALT

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

SEBASTIAN MEYER

A PLANET IN CRISIS : THE PLASTIC FLOOD

C YCL E

PLA.W.0420.XMIT.indd 73 FINAL 3/10/2020 4:00:12 PM