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Which materials are worth recycling?
From the most basic environmental point of view, all materials are worth recycling, because this reduces the need for energy-intensive mining and smelting of virgin materials. That makes a huge difference for some things – notably aluminium – but even recycling glass leads to a small energy saving and consequent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling can also provide a reliable, non-imported source of scarce resources such as the rare earth metals that are crucial parts of touchscreens and other high-tech devices.
However, the answer gets muddier when we consider economics. The price of recycled material fluctuates…
Article amended on 8 August 2017
We corrected the emissions of anaerobic bacteria
