Rematerialization makes conventional recycling look obsolete. Most recycling is actually downcycling, a loss of value over time with materials losing value. When various plastics are recycled into countertops, for example, valuable materials are mixed and can’t be recycled again. New ultra-light composite materials are hybrids from the start; they can’t even be recycled once. And when metals such as copper, nickel and manganese are blended in recycling, their value is lost forever.