Good citizens recycle their waste (when they can work out which bin to put what in) but often wonder what really happens to it. How much does end up being turned into new material or products? Do our processes make environmental sense? Why do the instructions for what to do with our waste vary so much between different locations? We will explore some of these questions, using examples for different materials including plastics and metals, and look at how things may change for the future. Part of the answer is that the problems are genuinely complex and the simple solutions have unintended consequences. Stewardship of our materials resources is a major consideration, but we need to look at whole systems around the complete lifecycle of products to find robust and responsible solutions.
