Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Soundcloud

“As a journalist, I'm not just there to beat up on these guys. I'm also there to listen. Because they might have a reasonable answer, and that reasonable answer might satisfy my question. So you have to be really attuned to what they're saying. But you also have to be prepared to stand your ground. And I was.”

—Matt Gutman

When you throw your plastic into recycling, do you ever wonder where it really ends up? In 2023, ABC News launched an ambitious and creative investigation to find out how effective one highly touted nationwide recycling program is. They put trackers in dozens of plastic bags, with the help of local affiliate TV stations around the country. The results were eye opening, and won them a 2024 duPont-Columbia Silver Baton.

Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman, investigative producer Evan Simon, coordinating producer Tonya Simpson, and senior producer Jon Schlossberg, join Abi Wright and Lisa Cohen to talk about how they tracked plastic as it traveled around the world, then took on the American Chemistry Council to hold them accountable. 

Gutman and his producers reveal tips for how to prepare for tough interviews and best practices for how to react when they suddenly go south. “I didn't intend for it to be a confrontational interview,” says Gutman, “but it ended up becoming one of the most confrontational interviews I've ever conducted.”

Watch the duPont-winning Trashed story here. Watch the recent new update here, which finds Gutman following the plastic all the way to Southeast Asia.