Throughout the early stages of recycling the theory was that unwanted items could be used to make new items but as time went on, demand became more exact, economies changed, and materials were being excessively produced e.g. plastic bottles. This made it harder for countries and corporations to think of new solutions and handle them swiftly in a financially viable manner, making recycling a limited option for every community, especially rural communities. Rural communities produce limited quantities further impacting the financials. Thus, enters a new option; waste diversion.

Waste diversion is exactly what it states. The goal is to keep waste out of landfills and reduce the number of unwanted items in the environment. There are many ways to reduce/divert waste 

• avoid buying one-use products
• repairing and maintaining reusable items
• minimize materials in municipal solid waste (household trash), etc. 

The alternatives to diverting waste are extensive and expensive; 

• thermal treatment 
• biological treatments. 

As the economy changes, material values change  

making diversion easier for some materials than others. 

1) “Many online retailers are at least ensuring that all their cardboard boxes are made from recycled material. This can benefit the environment by reducing the demand for new boxes…” {The Amazon Effect: Cardboard Recycling by Prime} Companies like Amazon are making sure that their cardboard boxes are easy to recycle and recycled themselves.

2) “Ford Motor Company is helping to play a major role in promoting environmentally friendly auto parts, and one way they’re doing that is by using recycled plastic bottles for under-body shields on all cars and SUVs, and wheel liners on F-Series trucks.” {From Recycling Bin to Under-body Skin; Ford Recycles 1.2 Billion Plastic Bottles Every Year for Vehicle Parts by Mich Dearborn}. Therefore, Ford Motor Company recycle about 2% of the U.S.’s water bottles yearly.

3) Unwanted waste is sent to be buried and can be recovered when economies and new ways to reuse have evolved.

4) “Citi Field is gradually replacing its food and beverage packaging with compost-friendly versions, putting a wider range of sorted waste bins in the park, and promising to ship close to zero refuse to landfills by 2020.” {Garbage, Now with Less Waste by Larissa Zimberoff} The food and compost-friendly packaging allows the opportunity to be recycled into renewable energy and gets solid waste out of landfills.

 Garbage, Now with Less Waste by Larissa Zimberoff