Consumption and disposal

Metals are a central ingredient of modern living, allowing previously unknown innovation in mobility, security, energy and communications. Large-scale mines extract vast quantities of minerals. Unfortunately, due to weak governance in many countries, the environmental and social impacts of these mines are not sufficiently regulated. Additionally, illegal artisanal miners, who have been associated with financing armed forces, employing child labour, perpetrating deforestation and pollution, mine various metals. However, many of the negative environmental and social impacts of mining occur far away from the daily lives of the average consumer in a high-income country. Many consumers are even unaware of their high reliance on metals.

Behavioral changes in how we use and consume metals have a high potential to alleviate negative environmental and social impact of mining. Purchasing products made of metals from certified or conflict-free sourcing schemes, using metal-containing devices for longer by repairing instead of replacing devices and recycling irreparable devices could alleviate the pressure on mineral resources.

For this part of the project, the Swiss Mineral Observatory group was interested in determining the drivers of the demand for certified gold and the possibilities of increasing sourcing from e-waste in an Urban Mining project in Switzerland.