Now shifting to glass/readily biodegradable paper/cellulose/aluminum would probably be better, but let's be real.

Americans love their snacks and treats, they half-ass recycling anyways, when they hear "recycling doesn't work" they won't go beyond that, they'll just start chucking everything into the same pile (more than they already do).

That 'consumer guilt' over plastic use is driven by corporations themselves in order for them to re-frame themselves as environmental heroes--see the 'plastic-saving' caps on water bottles or whatever the fuck. It's a manufactured downer-upper combination mainlined right into progressive liberal ethics. Electric cars are better for the environment because they don't pollute--oh wait, yes they do, just father from consumer observation. Solar panels will save everyone, accept for the rare earth metals and slave labor used to get them and rapid obsolescence.

It, like everything else well-meaning, was recuperated and co-opted. Just an aesthetic now.