Primary Metals Waste Management Trend
The following graph shows the 10-year trend in quantities of TRI chemical waste managed through recycling, energy recovery, treatment, and disposal or other releases by facilities in the primary metals manufacturing sector. For more details on quantities released, toggle to the “Releases only” graph.
From 2013 to 2022:
- Chemical waste reported by primary metals manufacturing facilities was largely metals which were mostly recycled.
- Quantities of waste managed by the primary metals manufacturing sector decreased by 27% since 2013 (843 million pounds), while the sector’s value added (represented by the black line), as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Value Added by Industry, increased by 15%.
- The overall decrease in waste managed was largely driven by a 609 million pound decrease in quantities of waste recycled over this time. Quantities of TRI chemical waste managed by all methods decreased as well.
From 2021 to 2022:
- Waste managed at primary metals manufacturing facilities decreased by 3% (80 million pounds), driven by decreases in waste recycled. Nonetheless, in 2022 the sector recycled 1.6 billion pounds of metals, more than any other sector.
- Zinc, copper, and lead accounted for 55% of the sector’s TRI waste managed.
The following graph shows the quantities of TRI chemicals released by facilities in the primary metals manufacturing industry.
From 2013 to 2022:
- TRI chemical releases by the primary metals manufacturing sector decreased by 43 million pounds (-12%), driven mainly by reductions in off-site disposal.
- Each year since 2013, about half of the primary metal manufacturing sector’s releases have been transferred for off-site disposal.
From 2021 to 2022:
- Releases increased by 16 million pounds (5%), driven by increased off-site disposal of metals.
- In 2022, zinc, manganese, and copper accounted for 62% of the sector’s releases.
Pollution Prevention in the Primary Metals Manufacturing Sector
In 2022, 93 facilities in the sector initiated 252 pollution prevention activities to reduce TRI chemical use and waste creation. The most commonly reported types of pollution prevention activities were Process and Equipment Modifications followed by Operating Practices and Training. For example:
- A wire manufacturing facility installed new machinery and modified its plant layout to increase efficiency and minimize copper scrap. [Click to view facility details in the TRI P2 Search Tool]
- A specialty metal tubing manufacturer implemented a new surface etching process that reduces the amount of nitric acid needed to etch a specific line of tubes used for aerospace applications. The facility expects the impact of this alternative will grow in the next 5-10 years as their customers begin placing orders for this method of production. [Click to view facility details in the TRI P2 Search Tool]
To find other examples of the sector’s pollution prevention activities and the pollution prevention barriers they face, visit TRI’s P2 Search Tool.
This page was published in March 2024 and uses the 2022 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2023.