> or sorting mixed trash into non-recyclable and recyclable (and further into various metals and plastics) A lot of that can already be automated. Push the tr

> or sorting mixed trash into non-recyclable and recyclable (and further into various metals and plastics) A lot of that can already be automated. Push the trash into a series of shredders, until it's powderized, then use magnets to pull out metals, and differentiate the rest by weight, IR spectrum and air streams. Then, one can use a spectrum of solvents to target plastic polymers to get back the precursors. Unfortunately, for plastic polymers that's still way more expensive than to just dump the wholesale trash on some Asian or African piece of land where it will eventually either degrade into microplastics or be burnt by extremely poor people who hope to get some of the metals back.