This is a great question. I would say that two primary ways that recycling can help reduce emissions is in:
1. buildings and industry efficiency (less energy used to produce new materials and goods)
2. reduced methane emissions from waste
So you could adjust the energy efficiency slider for buildings & industry, as well as go into the advanced detailed settings for "Methane & Other" and adjust "Agriculture & Waste Emissions." We haven't done an assessment of the exact magnitude that recycling represents but a scenario could look something like this: https://en-roads.climateinteractive.org/scenario.html?p209=1&p47=2.4&p60=-47&g0=29&g1=62&v=2.7.6
Clark McCall
In workshops with the public the topic of recycling sometimes comes up. As in “I recycle. What contribution does that make?”. What "slider shifting" is useful to illustrate recycling's contribution and what is a good way to handle questions from workshop participants about recycling's contribution to addressing global warming?
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