Critical Minerals: Recycling vs. Dissipative Losses – the Case of Indium

Critical materials share the same insufficiencies in their life cycles; low recycling rates and a high degree of dissipative losses. The limitations for the secondary use of critical materials are their minor concentrations in final products, their dissipative applications, and the fact that they are irreversibly mixed with other material flows in current recycling practices. This is exacerbated with ineffective collection, losses in pre-treatment, recycling and disposal. There is also need to challenge the view that materials in the anthroposphere are intrinsically recoverable. The paper argues that the reduction of dissipation of critical materials should have much higher priority. This calls for more efficient recycling strategies for both waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and thin-film photovoltaics, and also for revising the priorities in recycling strategies. In addition, sustainable energy strategies should consider the limitations of critical materials, such as indium, and should be drafted in concert with sustainable waste management strategies.