Editing Recycling (section)

=== Post-World War II ===
A considerable investment in recycling occurred in the 1970s due to rising energy costs.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/recycling-ages-1970s/ |title = Recycling through the ages: 1970s |date = 30 July 2014 |access-date = 7 March 2015 |website = Plastic Expert |archive-date = 16 May 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190516130847/https://www.plasticexpert.co.uk/recycling-ages-1970s/ |url-status = live }}</ref> Recycling aluminium uses only 5% of the energy of virgin production. Glass, paper and other metals have less dramatic but significant energy savings when recycled.<ref name="economistrecycle" />

Although consumer electronics have been popular since the 1920s, recycling them was almost unheard of until early 1991.<ref>{{cite web |title = CRC History |work= Computer Recycling Center |url = http://www.crc.org/about/crc_history.php |access-date = 29 July 2015 |archive-date = 31 March 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190331104014/http://www.crc.org/about/crc_history.php |url-status = live }}</ref> The first [[electronic waste recycling]] scheme was implemented in [[Switzerland]], beginning with collection of old refrigerators, then expanding to cover all devices.<ref>{{cite web |title = About us |work=Swico Recycling |url = http://www.swicorecycling.ch/en/about-us/  |access-date = 29 July 2015 |archive-date = 31 March 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190331092626/http://www.swicorecycling.ch/en/about-us/ |url-status = live }}</ref> When these programs were created, many countries could not deal with the sheer quantity of [[e-waste]], or its hazardous nature, and began to export the problem to developing countries without enforced environmental legislation. (For example, recycling computer monitors in the United States costs 10 times more than in China.) Demand for electronic waste in Asia began to grow when scrapyards found they could extract valuable substances such as [[copper]], [[silver]], [[iron]], [[silicon]], [[nickel]], and [[gold]] during the recycling process.<ref>{{cite web |title = Where does e-waste end up? |url = http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/the-e-waste-problem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ |access-date = 29 July 2015 |work = Greenpeace |date = 24 February 2009 |archive-date = 22 January 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180122173520/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/the-e-waste-problem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ |url-status = live }}</ref> The 2000s saw a boom in both the sales of electronic devices and their growth as a waste stream: In 2002, e-waste grew faster than any other type of waste in the EU.<ref name="Kinver">{{Cite news |title = Mechanics of e-waste recycling |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6254816.stm |date = 3 July 2007 |access-date = 29 July 2015 |last = Kinver |first = Mark |publisher = BBC |archive-date = 3 May 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090503181714/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6254816.stm |url-status = live }}</ref> This spurred investment in modern automated facilities to cope with the influx, especially after strict laws were implemented in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title = Bulgaria opens largest WEEE recycling factory in Eastern Europe |url = http://www.ask-eu.com/Default.asp?Menue=142&Bereich=5&SubBereich=16&KW=130&NewsPPV=8492 |website = www.ask-eu.com |access-date = 29 July 2015 |date = 12 July 2010 |publisher = WtERT Germany GmbH |archive-date = 14 September 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110914095226/http://www.ask-eu.com/Default.asp?Menue=142 |url-status = live }}{{pb}}{{cite web |title = EnvironCom opens largest WEEE recycling facility  |url = http://www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/news/environcom-opens-largest-weee-recycling-facility-in-uk-1195.aspx |website = www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk  |date = 4 March 2010 |publisher = The Sixty Mile Publishing Company |url-status = dead |archive-url = http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515070836/http%3A//www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/news/environcom%2Dopens%2Dlargest%2Dweee%2Drecycling%2Dfacility%2Din%2Duk%2D1195.aspx |archive-date = 15 May 2016 }}{{pb}}{{Cite news |title = Where Gadgets Go To Die: E-Waste Recycler Opens New Plant in Las Vegas |url = https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/e-waste-recycling-las-vegas-us-micro-electronics_n_1200527.html |journal = Huffington Post |access-date = 29 July 2015 |last = Goodman |first = Peter S. |date = 11 January 2012 |archive-date = 8 January 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170108030900/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/11/e-waste-recycling-las-vegas-us-micro-electronics_n_1200527.html |url-status = live }}{{unreliable source?|date=September 2023}}{{pb}}{{cite web |title = New plant tackles our electronic leftovers|url = https://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/new-plant-tackles-our-electronic-leftovers/2008/11/19/1226770518649.html |website = Sydney Morning Herald| url-access=subscription |access-date = 29 July 2015 |date = 19 November 2008 |last = Moses |first = Asher |archive-date = 26 August 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170826203500/http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/new-plant-tackles-our-electronic-leftovers/2008/11/19/1226770518649.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

As of 2014, the [[European Union]] had about 50% of world share of waste and recycling industries, with over {{formatnum:60000}} companies employing {{formatnum:500000}} people and a turnover of €24 billion.<ref>European Commission, [http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/lead-market-initiative/recycling/index_en.htm Recycling] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203063401/http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/lead-market-initiative/recycling/index_en.htm |date=3 February 2014 }}.</ref> EU countries are mandated to reach recycling rates of at least 50%; leading countries are already at around 65%. The overall EU average was 39% in 2013<ref>{{Cite web|title=Recycling rates in Europe |work=European Environment Agency|url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/what/public-events/competitions/waste-smart-competition/recycling-rates-in-europe/view|access-date=2023-02-08|language=en|archive-date=8 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208010147/https://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/what/public-events/competitions/waste-smart-competition/recycling-rates-in-europe/view|url-status=live}}</ref>
and is rising steadily, to 45% in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Recycling of municipal waste | work= European Environment Agency|url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/airs/2017/resource-efficiency-and-low-carbon-economy/recycling-of-municipal-waste|access-date=2023-02-08|language=en|archive-date=7 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907225746/https://www.eea.europa.eu/airs/2017/resource-efficiency-and-low-carbon-economy/recycling-of-municipal-waste|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Paben|first=Jared|date=2017-02-07|title=Germany's recycling rate continues to lead Europe|url=https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2017/02/07/germanys-recycling-rate-continues-lead-europe/|access-date=2023-02-08|website=Resource Recycling News|language=en-US|archive-date=8 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208010142/https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2017/02/07/germanys-recycling-rate-continues-lead-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly set 17 [[Sustainable Development Goals]]. Goal 12, [[Sustainable Development Goal 12|Responsible Consumption and Production]], specifies 11 targets "to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns".<ref>United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, [[:File:A RES 71 313 E.pdf|Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]] ([https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 A/RES/71/313])</ref> The fifth target, [[Sustainable Development Goal 12#Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation|Target 12.5]], is defined as substantially reducing waste generation by 2030, indicated by the National Recycling Rate.

In 2018, changes in the recycling industry have sparked a global "crisis". On 31 December 2017, China announced its "[[Operation National Sword|National Sword]]" policy, setting new standards for imports of recyclable material and banning materials deemed too "dirty" or "hazardous". The new policy caused drastic disruptions in the global recycling market, and reduced the prices of scrap plastic and low-grade paper. Exports of recyclable materials from [[G7]] countries to China dropped dramatically, with many shifting to countries in southeast Asia. This generated significant concern about the recycling industry's practices and [[environmental sustainability]]. The abrupt shift caused countries to accept more materials than they could process, and raised fundamental questions about shipping waste from developed countries to countries with few environmental regulations—a practice that predated the crisis.<ref>{{Cite news |title = Why the world's recycling system stopped working |url = https://www.ft.com/content/360e2524-d71a-11e8-a854-33d6f82e62f8 |journal = [[Financial Times]] |access-date = 25 October 2018 |last1 = Hook |first1 = Leslie |last2 = Reed |first2 = John |date = 24 October 2018 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20181025073925/https://www.ft.com/content/360e2524-d71a-11e8-a854-33d6f82e62f8 |archive-date = 25 October 2018 |url-status = live | url-access = subscription }}</ref>