This story was originally published byGrist.
Mining those metals from the Earth creates damage and pollution that threaten ecosystems and communities.
Until recently, no one really knew.
Photo: vladdon (Shutterstock)
We felt it was our duty to get more facts on the table.
Two of the most recyclable metals found abundantly in e-waste arealuminumandcopper.
Millions of tons more wound up in waste dumps around the world.
The world could have used those discarded metals.
For other energy transition metals, recycling rates are far lower.
Its a lot of hassle to collect and separate out rare-earth magnets for recycling, Balde said.
The metals present in e-waste arent necessarily useful for every climate tech system even when they are recycled.
The lithium-ion batteries inside electric vehicles gobble up huge amounts of the stuff over 300,000 metric tons in 2022.
The amount of nickel required for EVs could rise tenfold by 2050, according to the IEA.
Some of that recycled steelcould wind up in wind turbinesand other zero-emissions technologies.
But it wont directly help to fill the much larger nickel demands of the EV battery market.
In other cases, e-waste might represent a significant supply of a specialized energy transition metal.
That could include policies requiring that manufacturers design their products with disassembly and recycling in mind.
This article originally appeared inGristathttps://grist.org/energy/staggering-quantities-of-energy-transition-metals-are-winding-up-in-the-garbage-bin/.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
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