"Slowing" and "narrowing" the flow of metals for consumer goods: evaluating opportunities and barriers

Elsa Dominish, Monique L Retamal, Samantha Sharpe, Ruth Lane, Muhammad Akbar Rhamdhani, Glen Corder, Damien Giurco, Nick Florin, Dan Eleazar Santos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Metal resources are essential materials for products and infrastructure, and it is therefore important to increase the sustainability of their production and use. Increasingly, the broad range of strategies and actions to improve sustainability are discussed in the context of the emerging concept of the circular economy. This paper uses this lens to evaluate the opportunities and barriers to improve the sustainability of metals, with a focus on metals contained in consumer products during the use‐phase. The sustainability of this phase has received less research attention compared to mining and production and recycling, yet it is vitally important for a sustainable circular flow of metals given the impact on demand.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1096
Number of pages22
JournalSustainability
Volume10
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Apr 2018

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