Big Energy and Greenhouse
Gas Savings Also Possible from Upping Recycling
Rates of Iron and Copper, Says New UN Environment
Report
New York, 13 May 2010 - Moving the global
economy towards environmentally-friendly,
clean technologies will increasingly hinge
on rapid improvements in the recycling rates
of so called "high-tech" specialty
metals like lithium, neodymium and gallium.
Such metals, needed
to make key components for wind turbines
and photovoltaics to the battery packs of
hybrid cars, fuel cells and energy efficient
lighting systems, exist in nature in relatively
small supplies or in discreet geographical
locations.
Yet despite concern
among the clean tech industry over scarcity
and high prices, only around one per cent
of these crucial high-tech metals are recycled,
with the rest discarded and thrown away
at the end of a product's life.
Unless future end-of-life
recycling rates are dramatically stepped
up these critical, specialty and rare earth
metals could become "essentially unavailable
for use in modern technology", warn
experts.
These are among the
preliminary findings of a new report entitled
Metals Recycling Rates to be issued by the
International Panel for Sustainable Resource
Management hosted by the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP).
The report, the final
version of which is to be published later
in the year, also underlines the big energy
and climate change gains that could be achieved
if greater end-of-life recycling rates of
more commonly known metals were achieved.
Metals such as iron
and steel, copper, aluminum, lead and tin
enjoy recycling rates of between 25 per
cent and 75 per cent globally, with much
lower rates in some developing economies.
Boosting those further
through better collection systems and recycling
infrastructure, especially in developing
countries, could save millions if not billions
of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions while
also generating potentially significant
numbers of green jobs.
This is because recycling
metals is between two and ten times more
energy efficient than smelting the metals
from virgin ores, says the report.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Urgent
action is now clearly needed to sustainably
manage the supplies and flows of these specialty
metals given their crucial role in the future
health, penetration and competitiveness
of a modern high-tech, resource-efficient
Green Economy".
"Boosting end-of-life
recycling rates not only offers a path to
enhancing those supplies and keeping metal
prices down, but can also generate new kinds
of employment while ensuring the longevity
of the mines and the stocks found in nature,"
he added.
"Meanwhile, improving
the recycling rates of common, mass-produced
metals such as copper and steel could also
play an important part in meeting climate
change targets and keeping the global temperature
rise below 2 degrees C by 2050. There is
currently a gap between the ambition of
nations and the science amounting to several
gigatonnes of CO2. Metals recycling could
play a part in helping to bridge that gap,"
said Mr Steiner.
Also launched today
was another final report called Metals in
Society. The two reports, presented during
a meeting of the UN's Commission on Sustainable
Development in New York, are part of six
being prepared on metals by the Panel.
The Panel is co-chaired
by Drs Ashok Kosla from India and Ernst
von Weizsacker of Germany and its Working
Group on metals is chaired by Thomas Graedel,
professor of Industrial Ecology at Yale
University.
Professor Graedel said:
"One of the phenomena of our modern,
industrial age is that increasingly metal
stocks are "above ground" in structures
such as buildings and ships and products
from cell phones to personal computers."
"For example around
240 kg of copper per person in the United
States is now "above ground" and
the global total could increase three to
nine fold over the coming years given anticipated
development patterns," he said.
"Yet these above
ground supplies of both common and specialty
metals represent an extraordinary resource
for sustainable development not only in
terms of supplies but also the opportunity
for reducing energy demand while curbing
pollution, including rising greenhouse gas
emissions," he added.
Key Findings from Metals
in Society and Preliminary Ones from Metals
Recycling
The amount of steel
per person in the United States is now 11
to 12 tonnes and in China it is 1.5 tonnes
World-wide stocks of metals in society have
grown such that there is enough copper "above
ground" equal to 50 kg per person.
Since 1932, the amount of copper per person
in the United States has grown from 73 kg
to close to 240 kg now.
If this pattern is followed by all countries,
the amount of copper and other metals in
structures and products would be three to
nine times today's levels.
The lifetime of copper in buildings is 25
to 40 years whereas in PCs and mobile phones,
the in-service lifetime of the metal is
less than five years
For many technology or specialist metals
like indium and rhodium, more than 80 per
cent of all such metals ever extracted from
natural resources have been mined in just
the past three decades
Global demand for metals like copper and
aluminum has doubled in the past 20 years
Lack of adequate recycling infrastructure
for WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment) in most parts of the world causes
total losses of copper and other valuable
metals like gold, silver and palladium.
Producing metals from
recycled sources has multiple Green Economy
benefits when compared with producing and
using primary metals from mines.
These include reduced
impacts on the environment including water
resources and biodiversity, reduced energy
requirements and hence cuts in greenhouse
gas emissions, and an opportunity to create
new jobs and livelihoods.
Other considerations
concern the fact that some of these metals
deposits and active mines are confined to
certain geographical locations. For example
lithium in South America and rare earth
metals in China.
Other Key Facts
Current global steel
production uses 1.3 billion tonnes of steel
annually, which cause 2.2 billion tonnes
of greenhouse gas emissions.
"Secondary", reclaimed steel causes
75 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions.
Emissions from recycled aluminum are about
12 times lower that primary aluminum production.
Currently only a few metals, such as iron
and platinum, have end-of-life recycling
rates of 50 per cent or above.
For each 100 million tonnes of primary steel
substituted by secondary or recycled steel,
a saving of around 150 million tonnes of
CO2 is possible.
The reports cites palladium
as an example of the around eight precious
metals studied including gold and silver.
Palladium is used in
car catalysts, industrial catalysts, and
areas such as dentistry and jewelry.
Currently recycling
rates can be as high as up to 90 per cent
in industrial applications, with more moderate
rates in automotive uses where rates are
around 50 to 55 per cent.
However, in electronic applications recycling
rates are just between five and ten per
cent, in part because less than 10 per cent
of consumer cell phones are recycled properly.
The researchers cite
indium as one of close to 40 specialty metals,
including rare earth metals, studied.
Indium is used in semiconductors,
energy efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs),
advanced medical imaging and photovoltaics.
The report underlines
that such metals are crucial for sustainable,
clean technologies like renewable energy
and advanced batteries.
Indium is a metal found
in low concentrations in nature and as a
by-product of zinc ores.
Strong growth in gross demand is predicted
for indium: from around 1,200 tonnes (2010)
to around 2,600 tonnes (2020).
Current recycling rates are thought to be
below one per cent, with a similar story
for other specialty metals.
Other specialty metals include tellurium
and selenium for high efficiency solar cells,
neodymium and dysprosium for wind turbine
magnets, lanthanum for hybrid vehicle batteries
and gallium for LEDs.
Notes to Editors:
The Secretariat of the
Resource Panel has prepared the following
webpage for these metal reports:
http://www.unep.fr/scp/rpanel/Metals1.htm.
On this webpage you
can download the flyer announcing the first
two metals reports of the Resource Panel
on metal stocks in society and recycling
rates in six UN languages. The webpage also
provides an illustrative PowerPoint presentation
for download that gives and introduction
to the work of the Global Metal Flows group,
highlights the conclusions of the first
report "Metal Stocks in Society: Scientific
Synthesis" and indicates current findings
of the second report on "The Recycling
Rates of Metals: A Status Report" that
is to be finalized by autumn. The first
report will be downloadable on this webpage
on 13 May.
Until 13 May, the first
metal report on "Metal Stocks in Society:
Scientific Synthesis" can be downloaded
at:
http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=DTI/0000/PA
The International Panel
for Sustainable Resource Management, or
Resource Panel for short, was officially
launched in November 2007 and is expected
to provide the scientific impetus for decoupling
economic growth and resource use from environmental
degradation.
The objectives of the
Resource Panel are to:
a. provide independent,
coherent and authoritative scientific assessments
of policy relevance on the sustainable use
of natural resources and in particular their
environmental impacts over the full life
cycle;
b. contribute to a better
understanding of how to decouple economic
growth from environmental degradation.
For more information
on the Resource Panel see:
http://www.unep.fr/scp/rpanel/
On 16 October, 2009
UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner joined
Steering Committee Co-Chair Timo Makela,
European Commission, to the launch of the
first assessment report of the Resource
Panel on "Towards sustainable production
and use of resources: Assessing biofuels".
Please find more information
on the report and download it at:
http://www.unep.fr/scp/rpanel/Biofuels.htm
On 22 February UNEP
Executive Director Achim Steiner launched
the report "Recycling ? From E-Waste
to Resources" at a meeting of chemical
experts prior to UNEP's Governing Council
in Bali, Indonesia. The report, prepared
together with UNU's Solving the E-waste
Problem (StEP) Initiative, identifies an
urgent need to prepare developing countries
for surge in e-waste. Please download the
report at:
http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=DTI/1192/PA
In 2009 UNEP published
already the report "Critical Metals
for Future Sustainable Technologies and
their Recycling Potential" prepared
with the Öko-Institute. The focus of
this study lies on future sustainable technologies
(FST), such as renewable energies and energy
efficient technologies, which will make
use of indium, germanium, tantalum, PGM
[platinum group metals, such as ruthenium,
platinum and palladium], tellurium, cobalt,
lithium, gallium and rare earths. These
are also classified as "green minor
metals", which are the basis for cleaner
technology innovation and therefore an issue
for recycling. Please download the report
at:
http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=DTI/1202/PA
Acknowledgements;
Yale school of Forestry
& Environmental Studies (http://environment.yale.edu/)
The Yale school of Forestry
& Environmental Studies is internationally
known for its excellence. Founded in 1901,
the school offers master's degrees and doctoral
programs and serves as a locus for research
into local, regional and global environmental
issues.
Öko-Institut (http://www.oeko.de)
The Öko-Institut
is a leading European research and consultancy
institution working for a sustainable future.
It employs more than 130 staff, including
100 researchers, at three locations: Freiburg,
Darmstadt and Berlin.
Umicore (http://www.umicore.com)
Umicore is an international
specialty materials group. Its business
unit Umicore Precious Metals Refining offers
eco-efficient recycling services for electronic
scrap and other valuable metal bearing materials
to a global customer base. In its state-of-the-art
integrated metals smelter and refinery at
Hoboken/Belgium precious metals as well
as base and special metals are recovered
and brought back to the market as pure metals.
Information on UN Media Accreditation can
be found at www.un.org/media/accreditation/
Further Resources
MetalStocks In Society - Resources page
Resource Panel website
Towards sustainable production and use of
resources: Assessing biofuels
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