Governments have spent decades telling the public of the importance of recycling and separating their waste. And a major ally in these efforts has been a little triangle made of curving arrows that is supposed to symbolize that a material can be recycled. But ultimately, recycling has failed to make a sizable impact on the plastic pollution across the world. POLITICO’s Eline Schaart explains why. Anthony Adragna is an energy reporter for POLITICO. Eline Schaart covers sustainability for POLITICO Europe. Carlos Prieto is a Politico podcast producer. Jenny Ament is the senior producer of POLITICO audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.