Minerals & Resources
Metals essential for electronics and renewable energy technologies that are difficult to replace.
What are rare earth metals?
Mining that removes soil and rock above mineral deposits.
What is surface mining?
Everyday trash produced by households and businesses.
What is municipal solid waste?
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, and Refuse.
What are the five “Rs” of solid waste reduction?
The decomposition of organic waste by microorganisms.
What is composting?
A rock that contains enough valuable material to be mined profitably.
what is ore?
A type of surface mining that removes horizontal layers of earth.
What is strip mining?
Waste that is toxic, reactive, corrosive, or flammable.
What is hazardous waste?
Recycling that turns materials into the same type of product again.
What is primary (closed-loop) recycling?
Using bacteria to break down pollutants in contaminated areas.
What is bioremediation?
The known quantity of a mineral that can be economically extracted with current technology.
What are mineral reserves?
Mining that blasts off entire mountain tops to reach coal seams.
What is mountaintop removal mining?
Discarded electronic devices containing valuable and toxic materials.
What is e-waste?
Recycling that converts materials into different products.
What is secondary (open-loop) recycling?
Using plants to remove or stabilize pollutants in soil or water.
What is phytoremediation?
The estimated time a resource will last if used at current rates.
What is depletion time?
Waste material left after the valuable portion of ore is removed.
What are tailings?
Liquid formed when water passes through waste in a landfill.
What is leachate?
Recycling that increases the value or quality of a material.
What is upcycling?
Burning waste to produce electricity.
What are waste-to-energy incinerators?
An approach to resource management that evaluates long-term availability rather than short-term profit.
What is sustainable resource use?
Environmental problems associated with tailings, including acid mine drainage and heavy metal contamination.
What are water and soil pollution?
A modern landfill design that reduces environmental contamination.
What is a sanitary landfill?
Recycling that reduces material quality over time.
What is downcycling?
A design approach where products are made to be reused endlessly.
What is cradle-to-cradle design?