① The Universal Foundation
Key Facts
16
Elements make up
>99% of all MSW by mass
~50%
of MSW by mass
is Carbon (C)
4.9 lbs
average daily waste per
US household member
The 16 Core Elements of Waste
What's in 1 Ton (2,000 lbs) of Typical MSW?
⚖️
Average elemental mass in 1 ton of mixed US MSW
Based on EPA characterization data — dry weight basis. Moisture (~20–30%) excluded. Carbon alone accounts for nearly half a ton of every ton of waste generated.
② Common Waste Items
Elemental Profiles of Common Waste Items
③ Special Waste Streams
Industrial & Residual Waste — Elemental Profiles
⚠️ Tires contain zinc (1–2%), sulfur, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Landfill leachate risk is high. Pyrolysis recovers carbon black and steel; devulcanization recovers S-rich char. Zinc from tire crumb is a leading source of stormwater Zn contamination.
Cl
Chlorine (salts, dioxin precursor)
3%
⚡ Bottom ash (~80% of ash volume) is increasingly used as road sub-base aggregate after metal recovery. Fly ash is hazardous — concentrated in Pb, Cd, dioxins, and furans. Ferrous/non-ferrous metal recovery from WTE ash is a growing secondary metals source.
Si
Silicon (aluminosilicates)
45–55%
🏗️ Class F fly ash is a pozzolan used as cement replacement (concrete, bricks). Contains trace As, Hg, Se, Cr, and critically — REEs at 300–600 ppm. US coal ash ponds hold ~1.4 billion tons, making them the largest unconventional REE deposit under study.
🌱 Sludge biosolids contain N, P, and K making them valuable fertilizer. However they also accumulate PFAS, heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg), and microplastics. Gold and silver are recoverable from sludge at 0.4–0.5 ppm — several cities now operate sludge precious-metal recovery programs.
C
Carbon (paper, food, plastic)
42%
Si
Silicon (glass fragments)
2.5%
🔄 Contamination shifts this stream's elemental profile toward landfill-typical MSW. Key cost: metals and glass that could be recovered are lost. China's 2018 National Sword policy (0.5% contamination threshold) caused ~70% of US recyclables to be landfilled or incinerated.
Rare Earth Elements & Valuable Metals in the Waste Stream
📱 E-Waste — electronics, batteries, displays
💧 Wastewater Sludge — biosolids, digester cake
⚫ Coal Fly Ash — largest unconventional REE deposit
💰 Estimated Urban Mining Value — $ per Tonne of Waste Stream (processed)
📱 E-Waste (mixed)
$3,000–15,000+
🔋 Li-ion Batteries
$2,000–8,000
💧 Wastewater Sludge
$50–150
⚫ Coal Fly Ash (REE)
$30–80
95%
Steel recovery rate from WTE bottom ash (EU)
40%
Current global e-waste collection rate (formal)
<1%
REEs currently recovered from waste globally
$57B
Estimated annual value of e-waste metals left unrecovered
④ Regional Variations
How Region Changes the Elemental Story
🌐 Global Baseline
🇺🇸 North America
🇪🇺 Europe
🇨🇳 East Asia
🇮🇳 South Asia
🌍 Sub-Saharan Africa
🌎 Latin America
Global Baseline — All-Region Average
Regional Deviation from Global Baseline
Select an element — green bars extend right (above baseline) · red bars extend left (below baseline)
C Carbon
O Oxygen
H Hydrogen
N Nitrogen
Si Silicon
Ca Calcium
K Potassium
Al Aluminum
Fe Iron
P Phosphorus
Full Deviation Table — All Elements vs. Global Baseline
Percentage point deviation from global baseline.
| Region | C | O | H | N | Si | Ca | K | Al | Fe | P |
|---|
| 🌐 Baseline | 43.7 | 31.5 | 6.1 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| 🇺🇸 N. America | +4.3 | −6.5 | +0.4 | −0.4 | 0.0 | −0.1 | −0.6 | +0.4 | −0.3 | −0.3 |
| 🇪🇺 Europe | +0.3 | −4.5 | +0.4 | −0.7 | +0.5 | +0.9 | −0.5 | −0.1 | +0.2 | −0.3 |
| 🇨🇳 East Asia | −7.7 | +1.5 | −1.1 | −0.4 | +3.0 | +2.4 | −0.4 | +0.4 | +1.2 | −0.3 |
| 🇮🇳 South Asia | +1.3 | +3.5 | −0.1 | +0.6 | −1.0 | −1.1 | 0.0 | −0.3 | −0.3 | 0.0 |
| 🌍 Sub-Saharan | −0.7 | +6.5 | −0.1 | +0.6 | −1.5 | −1.6 | +1.0 | −0.4 | −0.3 | +0.7 |
| 🌎 Latin America | +2.3 | −0.5 | +0.4 | +0.1 | −1.0 | −0.6 | +0.5 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.2 |
Carbon by Region vs. Baseline
🌎 Latin America
46% +2.3pp
⚠️ East Asia's −7.7pp carbon deficit is the largest single-element deviation globally — driven by China's construction debris diluting the organic stream with Si (+3.0pp) and Ca (+2.4pp).