[eru]

> I highly doubt this is the future of garbage collection, because it involves massive infrastructure investment that only pays itself in decades. This is not how local politics and budgeting operates. (source: I'm a district councilor in a large European capital)

Mostly, yes. But large, long, capital intensive investments occasionally do get pulled off. See eg the New York subway.

Different places have different abilities and willingness to do so. Similar for the same place in different times.

[kwhitefoot]

How likely is it do you think that New York's subway could be built today? They seem to be having trouble just upgrading the existing lines.

[eru]

Unlikely, but I have no special insight.

Many countries in the Anglosphere (US, UK, Australia) seem to have lost their ability to pull off big infrastructure projects.

I don't think London could build their sewers today either, nor their tube system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_sewerage_system#History

I'm glad to be living in Singapore where that kind of building capacity is still alive. They are currently building multiple new underground train lines. Driverless, of course.