16 points
Fiber optic cables are very much not recyclable, at least with the current recycling technologies.
6 points
17 points
Sure, but the glass core is only 8–9 µm wide, it’s a minuscule amount of glass compared to copper cables so it’s not really worth it to melt it down.
10 points
*
Most optical fiber is 125um of glass with 250um coating. The coating and the jacketing that make up the cable (mostly non-recyclable plastic) are the real problem.
3 points
What makes fiber optic useful is the fact that it is a very specific kind of glass.
3 points
2 points
5 points