Why not process all the stuff being dumped into landfills into useful raw material?

Question

There are some people who claim the stuff being dumped into landfills cannot be processed into useful raw material. But it is clear to me at least everything being dumped can be processed at some scale at a profit. You can't expect to do this on a small scale but the whole world is being poluted by use of landfills so on a large scale processing trash makes very good dollar sense. Its all a matter of good engineering and very practical from any perspective.

Answer 1

In some cases it can't. In some cases it's not economically feasible for a company to bother with waste when it gets dirt-cheap raw materials elsewhere. I agree that a lot of the capacity of landfills today could be transformed into something useful. Like the individual in the Phillipines who used the "hair" on coconuts to make nets. Waste --> useful application.

But yes, I think the only reason this isn't done is because it's cheaper not to do it. Cheaper in the short-term. Recycling is an expensive process, it produces its own pollution, and companies have no real incentive (other than minor government benefits) to pursue cleaner means of production through recycling.