Goldman Sachs GS SUSTAIN Source: Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Circle Economy, Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research Most recyclable materials are still sent to landfills, resulting in significant opportunity costs. According to the World Bank, dry recyclables make up 38% of global waste, while compostables (food) make up an additional 44%. Of the remaining 18%, wood, leather and rubber (4%) can also be recycled/repurposed to avoid landfilling, leaving less than 14% of waste destined to be landfilled. Right now, however, 70% of global waste is sent to landfills or openly dumped. In the EU alone, ~180-190 million tonnes of steel, aluminum and plastics fall out of use in the EU economy, resulting in an estimated €87 billion in lost value every year (Material Economics). Improving circularity of key materials and reducing demand for virgin materials has the potential to cut CO2 emissions significantly. In Europe, materials recirculation, increasing product materials efficiency and circular business models for cement, aluminium, plastics and steel could reduce CO2 emissions 56% vs a baseline scenario of business as usual, according to Material Economics (Exhibit 16 ). Aluminium has the greatest differential in emissions saved from recycling, but an already high recycling rate means that the emissions-saving potential from reaching maximum recycling 3 May 2022 <3