CBC News reporter Mychaylo Prystupa stands on top of mixed plastics gathered in Winnipeg and destined for China. (CBC)

CBC News presents a series of stories that strip the plastic coating from the recycling myth and offers a surprising look at where our so-called reusable products end up.

From Winnipeg homes to Hong Kong factories and back to store shelves across the globe. That is the journey taken by more than 8 out of every 10 pieces of plastic tossed into a blue box bin.

Washed-up garbage litters an island in Nopiming Provincial Park, located along the border with Ontario, about 200 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. (Eva Pip)

But not everyone tosses their recyclable waste into a blue box. Some of it ends up polluting landfills, tainting hundreds of freshwater lakes across Manitoba and killing countless animals.

Water fowl mistakenly ingest the materials floating on the lake surface, while other animals are smothered by bags or strangled by straps and strings.

While societies try to de-plasticize — outlawing plastic bags and water bottles — the plastics industry is aggressively battling the backlash and mounting campaigns to tout the "safety … energy efficiency" and economical benefits of their products.