Why can't all plastics be recycled together?

Answer: Different plastics can't be melted together

Different plastics can't be melted together ✓ — Correct! Plastics have different chemical structures and melting points. Mixing types produces weak, unusable material. Recycling requires sorting by type, but many products use multiple plastics that can't be separated.

Recycling plants lack equipment — Wrong. The limitation is technical, not equipment. Different plastic types have different melting points and chemical structures—mixing them produces weak, unusable material.

All plastics are actually recyclable — Wrong. Only certain plastics (#1 PET, #2 HDPE) are widely recyclable. Many plastics can't be economically recycled due to mixed compositions or contamination.