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So, Should We Recycle? : Planet Money Cities might be picking up your recyclables, but there is a very good chance they aren't being recycled. And that might be a good thing...if you really care about the planet. Part two of a two-part series. ⎸Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Planet Money

So, Should We Recycle?

So, Should We Recycle?

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Cardboard boxes waiting for a buyer to recycle them in Nogales, Arizona. If they're not bought, the boxes will most likely head to a landfill. Sarah Gonzalez hide caption

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Sarah Gonzalez

Cardboard boxes waiting for a buyer to recycle them in Nogales, Arizona. If they're not bought, the boxes will most likely head to a landfill.

Sarah Gonzalez

This is the second of a two part series. Part one is here.

China used to be America's market for recyclables. At one point it was taking about half the world's junk plastic. Turning peanut butter jars into socks.

But China's economy is different now. It doesn't want our garbage anymore.

What now? America's towns are slowly breaking up with recycling. And not just for economic reasons—economists are increasingly wondering if we are actually recycling...too much.

Today on the show, in the second part of a two-part series on recycling, we dig into why.

Music: "Numbers Game" and "Funky And Western."

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