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Interesting.
Energy requirements aside, I'm generally concerned about recycling also being about material recovery and waste avoidance.
As one example, I think recycling paper is a good idea because of how long it takes to grow trees, and there is still clear cutting of natural areas going on. I don't think a lot of paper comes from tree farms.
Besides, the energy requirement thing can be fixed over time with improved technologies.
I wouldn't want to abolish recycling programs. I'd rather improve them. It at least makes sense from a material supply point of view. The impact on the environment is something that can be greatly improved. In the grand scheme of things, we haven't been recycling for that long.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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