> recycling is what sends the trash to Asia were it's then tossed in the ocean.

That isn't true (and was never true). Trash in Asia that ends up in the ocean is local trash.

Even back when Asia bought recycling from us there wasn't much trash in it, and even the trash that was there didn't end up in the ocean.

The stuff in the ocean is what litters the streets, and then goes in rivers during rain storms.

I tried explaining this a very eager green friend of mine and he would have none of it, he preferred blaming the USA on every bad thing going on in the world. Even Asian garbage being dumped in the ocean.

Depends on your local council. Recycling is a very local issue, and so it's something communities can and should tackle head on.

But you are right, the amount of councils sending recycling to landfill is very sad.

Why is it sad? Why does plastic need to be recycled?

Here are some reasons:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/plastic-garbage-flip-fl...

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180426-why-plastics-are...

https://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/microplastics-f...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ocean-plastic-liberals-fact...

And it's only going to get worse unless we do something about it. Recycling is far worse than just taxing negative externalities and making the companies upstream use biodegradeable materials.