Metal stocks and sustainability
- R. B. Gordon*,
- M. Bertram†,‡, and
- T. E. Graedel†,§
- *Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, P.O. Box 208109, New Haven, CT 06511; and †Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale University, 205 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511
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Edited by William C. Clark, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved December 5, 2005 (received for review November 1, 2005)
Abstract
The relative proportions of metal residing in ore in the lithosphere, in use in products providing services, and in waste deposits measure our progress from exclusive use of virgin ore toward full dependence on sustained use of recycled metal. In the U.S. at present, the copper contents of these three repositories are roughly equivalent, but metal in service continues to increase. Providing today's developed-country level of services for copper worldwide (as well as for zinc and, perhaps, platinum) would appear to require conversion of essentially all of the ore in the lithosphere to stock-in-use plus near-complete recycling of the metals from that point forward.
Footnotes
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↵§ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: thomas.graedel{at}yale.edu.
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↵‡ Present address: Recycling Division, European Aluminium Association/Organisation of European Aluminium Refiners and Remelters, Avenue de Broqueville 12, 1150 Brussels, Belgium.
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Author contributions: R.B.G. and T.E.G. designed research; R.B.G. and M.B. performed research; R.B.G. and M.B. analyzed data; and R.B.G. and T.E.G. wrote the paper.
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Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.
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This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
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Abbreviation: GDP, gross domestic product.
- Copyright © 2006, The National Academy of Sciences
