If we were able to recycle everything we put away with such an efficiency so as to get every last atom back, there would be very little to no material gone to waste. The landfills would clear up, our environmental impact would be reduced and we would have more resources at our disposal. We can do this by heating waste to a temperature high enough to rip apart molecular bonds, and from there the only issue is separating the elements. Of course, our current technological capabilities do not (as far as my knowledge goes) reach these demands of doing that on such a large scale, so we would likely have to invest in research. But what is a few million bucks gone to science compared to the reward of virtually no more trash wasting space where we could otherwise build infrastructure?
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