alt Hacker NewsAt some point in the 90s I remember hearing an NPR story about a new startup that was "pioneering" technology that would basically permit atomic/small-molecule level "cat cracking" of just about anything: a furnace that was so hot that everything put inside it broke down to atoms/small-molecules which could then be fractionated off for re-use.
I was so excited. I was so naive.
The idea seems to have gone nowhere.
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That one seems like it should fall foul of thermodynamics, I guess. Just melting everything together probably increases entropy to the extent that it's at best like extracting elements from mining ore. Whereas before you do that, there is organisation and substances are more concentrated. Well, that's a bit hand-wavy - perhaps someone with actual knowledge of thermodynamics will comment.
I think what recyclers do currently is at least break everything into small pieces, some of which might have a decent concentration of something useful
The Empire Strikes Back: scene where Chewy rescues C-3PO's parts from going into the recycling furnace.