Metal Dissipation and Inefficient Recycling Intensify Climate Forcing
Abstract
In the metals industry, recycling is commonly included among the most viable options for climate change mitigation, because using secondary (recycled) instead of primary sources in metal production carries both the potential for significant energy savings and for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Secondary metal production is, however, limited by the relative quantity of scrap available at end-of-life for two reasons: long product lifespans during use delay the availability of the material for reuse and recycling; and end-of-life recycling rates are low, a result of inefficient collection, separation, and processing. For a few metals, additional losses exist in the form of in-use dissipation. The sum of these lost material flows forms the theoretical maximum potential for future efficiency improvements. Based on a dynamic material flow analysis, we have evaluated these factors from an energy perspective for 50 metals and calculated the corresponding greenhouse gas emissions associated with the supply of lost material from primary sources that would otherwise be used to satisfy demand. A use-by-use examination demonstrates the potential emission gains associated with major application sectors. The results show that minimizing in-use dissipation and constraints to metal recycling have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the metal industry by about 13-23%, corresponding to 1% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
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Scrap metals often undergo downcycling because vehicles are complex products that contain many alloys and metals, resulting in the mixing of incompatible elements.
“Scrap metals often undergo downcycling because vehicles are complex products that contain many alloys and metals, resulting in the mixing of incompatible elements [168,169].”
From Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics—a review (2019) · cites this paper as [169]
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- Authors
- Ciacci, L., Harper, E. M., Nassar, N. T., Reck, B. K., & Graedel, T. E.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- United States Geological Survey (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ciacci, Luca
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2016-10-07
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 20
- Pages
- 11394-11402
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2523537559
- Cited by
- 78
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 4.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Yale University
- University of Technology Sydney
- Monash University
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
- Swinburne University of Technology
- Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (1336121)
- University of Queensland
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Sustainability and Ecological Systems Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Recycling and Waste Management Techniques
- Keywords
- metal recycling, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change mitigation, energy conservation, material flow analysis, emission reduction potential
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