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Metal-lifespan analysis shows scale of waste

Mining metals has a rising environmental cost. But high losses and low recycling rates mean that many last only a short time.
  1. Freda Kreier
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A person in heat protective gear and a red hardhat works as the copper flows into molds at a smelting plant in China.

Metals can be lost at any stage of their commercial lifespan — including during smelting. Credit: He Huawen/VCG via Getty

Metals might be the foundation of the modern economy, but that doesn’t mean they stick around.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01467-8

References

  1. Charpentier Poncelet, A. et al. Nature Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00895-8 (2022).

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