So, what does the future hold for recycling? In the sort term, increased investment in recycling infrastructure and over all improvements in recycling rates should continue to increase. More and more cities are going to semi-automated sorting and co-mingled collection, even when self-sorting had been a long-established norm.

However, over the long term, the goal of increasing the number of products that can be recycled (most notably, many types of otherwise immortal plastics) is the most important. Increases in recycling efficiency and the ability to create an even more pure recycled product is also in the cards.

Over the next few decades, it is likely that the price of energy will continue an overall upward trend. As such, the energetics of recycling will continue to make it a more and more attractive option. Increases in energy efficiency in the recycling process will also be major areas of interest for researchers and investors.

Since recycling is a market-based solution to a public problem, improvements to it are similarly market-based whenever possible. That’s why recycling programs are most likely to be profitable and have the capital to improve when demand for recycled products is high.

This can be legislated to a certain extent. For instance, there are many states and provinces that have passes laws requiring a minimum of post-consumer recycled paper fibers in newspapers sold there. However, the most powerful force remains the purchasing power of consumers.

You can purchase products that are made from recycled products. This is most helpful to the overall recycling economy when you purchase goods from emerging markets such as the plastic “wood” that can be made from recycled carpets and plastic bags. You can also purchase services from companies that recycle, such as “green” auto repair shops. One may also choose to purchase items that come in containers and packaging that either is made from recycled products or can themselves be easily recycled.

Recycling isn’t the most environmentally friendly game in town, but it’s a good start. If you really want to make your contribution to the environment go a lot further, you can simply get in the habit of reusing items instead of throwing them in the bins after a single use.

There are many ways to reuse products, often limited only by your own imagination and certain health concerns. For instance, it is never safe to reuse a pesticide container to hold drinking water for you or your pets. Other than that, reusing containers or sharing them with other people who can use them (as in the case of cooperative groceries) is a far more environmentally friendly option.

Of course, one can always turn old materials into very different items. For instance, DIY jewelery makers routinely find new ways to infuse old objects with new art and up-cycle them into much higher value commodities.

you might be surprised to learn how much more closely many farms resemble a materials hauler rather than the home of Old MacDonald that many still imagine. While organic farms are able to compost much of what they use, since a large portion of it will be generated on-farm, the vast majority of acreage in North America is still “conventionally” tended, meaning that a great deal of solid waste is also associated with the process.

Plastic bags and sheeting are a very commonly produced product that can be difficult to recycle. In the ‘aughts, several West Coast firms have sprung up to collect agricultural plastic by the ton. Another common waste item found on farms are the barrels and buckets with pesticides and toxic concentrations of fertilizers. These containers are classified as hazardous waste even when they’re empty, and are usually incinerated at special facilities.