Chromium is an essential engineering metal used in stainless and alloy steels, chemicals, and refractory products. Using material flow analysis, all major anthropogenic chromium flows are characterized for the year 2000, from mining through discard, on three spatial levels: fifty-four countries, nine world regions, and the planet. Included is the first detailed quantification of chromium in internationally traded finished products and diverse waste streams. Findings include (1) 78% of chromium flow entering final use is added as a net addition to stock on the global level; most countries are close to this figure; (2) the majority of mining occurs in Africa (2400 Gg Cr/yr) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (1090 Gg Cr/yr), while the major end-users are Asia, Europe, and North America at 1150, 1140, and 751 Gg Cr/yr, respectively; (3) waste flows of chromium are the greatest in Europe (420 Gg Cr/yr), Asia (370 Gg Cr/yr), and North America (290 Gg Cr/yr), but the composition of these waste flows varies greatly among the world regions; (4) releases of chromium by the global system, which total 2630 Gg Cr/yr, are nearly evenly divided among tailings, ferrochromium slag, downgraded scrap, and post-consumer losses; (5) many countries have a heavy foreign dependence on chromium in the all forms, as is demonstrated for the United States. The findings relating to in-use stock changes and finished product trade are relevant to industry, allowing for more accurate planning for future scrap availability. The quantification of releases due to discards and dissipation hold environmental and human health relevance, while the full life cycle international trade assessment addresses local scarcity.

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A correlation between the prices of a variety of substances and their dilutions in their initial matrices was shown in 1959 by T.K. Sherwood. The research presented here shows that the relationship holds for engineering metals today, which we termed the metals-specific Sherwood plot. The concentrations of metals in products (e.g., printed wiring boards and automobiles) and waste streams (e.g., municipal solid waste, and construction and demolition debris) were plotted with this correlation. In addition, for the products and waste streams that undergo disassembly at end-of-life, the metals concentrations of the disassembled components were also plotted. It was found that most of the metals that are currently targeted for recycling have post-disassembly concentrations that lie above the metals-specific Sherwood plot (i.e., have concentrations that are more enriched than minimum profitable ore grades). This suggests that material concentration plays a role in the viability of recycling at end-of-life. As products grow in complexity and the variety of materials used, analyses such as this one provide insight for policymakers and those interested in material sustainability into macro-level trends of material use and future recycling practices.

Anthropogenic cycling of silver in 1997 is presented using three discrete governmental units: 64 countries encompassing what we believe to be over 90% of global silver flows, 9 world regions, and the entire planet. Using material flow analysis (MFA) techniques, the country level cycles are aggregated to produce the regional cycles, which are used to form a "best estimate" global cycle. Interesting findings include the following: (1) several silver-mining countries export ore and concentrate but also import silver-containing semiproducts and products; (2) the level of development for a country, as indicated by the gross domestic product, is a fair indicator of silver use, but several significant outliers exist; (3) the countries with the greatest mine production include Mexico, the United States, Peru, and China, whereas the United States, Japan, India, Germany, and Italy lead in the fabrication and manufacture of products; (4) North America and Europe's use of silver products exceed that of other regions on a per capita basis; (5) global silver discards, including tailings and separation waste, totaled approximately 57% of the silver mined; (6) approximately 57% of the silver entering waste management globally is recycled; and (7) the amount of silver entering landfills globally is comparable to the amount found in tailings. The results of this MFA lay the basis for further analysis, which in turn can offer insight into natural resource policy, the characterization of environmental impact, and better resource management.