This article studies the exploitation of recyclable exhaustible resources such as metals that are crucial for the energy transition or phosphorus that is crucial for agricultural production. We use a standard Hotelling model of resource exploitation that includes a primary sector and a recycling sector.
While the ecological crisis is usually presented as a confrontation between mankind and nature, there remains a third term that it is imperative to keep in mind: technology. Technology appears as made up of two fronts, which must be considered jointly: mediation with nature, and mediation with man himself.
