The Recycling Distraction is an evidence-based argument that municipal recycling is ineffective at reducing waste and preventing pollution. Instead, recycling depoliticizes waste, pollution, and environmental responsibility issues so manufacturers can avoid public scrutiny for their share of environmental problems. Recycling puts an outsized burden on individual Americans for properly managing “consumer” waste. Rhys assembled evidence from historians, sociologists, economists, scientists, and other authorities to develop his thesis argument. To share this work with the public, Rhys is writing, designing, and publishing the website, RecyclingDistraction.com, which will be available in spring 2022. The objective of this project is to challenge the popular public narrative that recycling is the best way for people to protect the planet from waste and pollution.