Waste recycling: when AirTags reveal an environmental scandal

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The investigation, as simple as it is ingenious, began with a few Apple AirTags. These small geolocation devices, initially designed to find lost objects, were diverted from their primary use to serve a much greater cause. Our anonymous investigator discreetly slipped them into bags of plastic waste before depositing them in the city's recycling bins.

The goal was the following: to follow the path of this waste and verify whether the municipality's recycling promises were being kept. The results quickly exceeded her worst fears.

Thanks to the GPS tracking of AirTags, she was able to see that the majority of plastic waste was not ending up in a recycling center. Instead, it was sent to a company that was not even certified to process plastic. A first warning sign that announced a much more serious situation.

Taking her investigation further, our committed citizen used a drone to get an overview. What she discovered was simply astonishing: more than 250 tons of plastic waste, supposed to be recycled, were lying in a huge open-air landfill. And this, since 2022.

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Environmental scandal revealed by AirTags

This revelation is all the more shocking given that the city of Houston had explicitly committed to recycling all types of plastic “as much as possible”. A promise that now rings hollow in the face of the reality revealed by this citizen investigation.

The scandal quickly grew. Local and national media, including CBS News and Apple Insider, picked up on the case, putting the Houston municipality in a rather uncomfortable position. Faced with these revelations, local authorities find themselves forced to explain this glaring gap between their commitments and the reality on the ground.

This isn't the first time AirTags have been in the news. Recently, another American woman managed to get repeat mail and parcel thieves arrested. By placing AirTags in her packages, she thwarted a major trafficking operation in collaboration with local authorities.

• A Houston resident used AirTags to track the journey of her plastic waste
• She discovered that what was supposed to be recycled was not at all
• The investigation uncovered more than 250 tons of plastic waste illegally stored since 2022,

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