The Same Atoms, Three Names

The elemental makeup of manufacturing feedstock.

The material commonly described as municipal solid waste contains 16 elements accounting for over 99% of its mass by dry weight — the same 16 elements in every refined manufactured product on Earth. "Waste" is a legal and economic classification. The atoms don't change when the classification does.

Read the full predicate transition →

Loading feedstock analysis · 4 acts · 6 regions · REE data

The Elemental Makeup of
Manufacturing Feedstock

Every tonne of manufacturing feedstock is made of atoms. Just 16 elements account for over 99% of all feedstock by mass — and where you source it shapes which ones dominate.

📊 Feedstock Characterization Data (EPA/ASTM) 🌍 6 World Regions Compared ⚗️ Special Streams & REEs ⚖️ 1-Tonne Feedstock Breakdown Included

① The Universal Foundation

Key Facts

Elements make up
>99% of all manufacturing feedstock by mass

~50%

of manufacturing feedstock
by mass is Carbon (C)

4.9 lbs

average daily waste per
US household member

The 16 Core Elements of Manufacturing Feedstock

Carbon

~48%

Oxygen

~25%

Hydrogen

~6.5%

Nitrogen

~1.5%

Sulfur

~0.5%

Chlorine

~0.5%

Silicon

~3%

Aluminum

~1.5%

Iron

~1%

Calcium

~3%

Sodium

~0.5%

Potassium

~0.4%

Magnesium

~0.3%

Phosphorus

~0.3%

Titanium

~0.15%

Zinc

~0.1%

What's in 1 Tonne of Typical Residential Feedstock?

⚖️

Average elemental mass in 1 tonne of Residential Feedstock

Based on EPA characterization data — dry weight basis. Moisture (~20–30%) excluded. Carbon alone accounts for nearly half a tonne of every tonne of manufacturing feedstock.

960 lbs

Carbon

500 lbs

Oxygen

130 lbs

Hydrogen

60 lbs

Calcium

60 lbs

Silicon

30 lbs

Aluminum

30 lbs

Nitrogen

20 lbs

Iron

10 lbs

Sodium

10 lbs

Sulfur

10 lbs

Chlorine

8 lbs

Potassium

6 lbs

Magnesium

6 lbs

Phosphorus

3 lbs

Titanium

2 lbs

Zinc

② Feedstock Item Profiles

Elemental Profiles of Feedstock Items

📰

Newspaper / Paper

Carbon (C)44%

Oxygen (O)44%

Hydrogen (H)6%

Nitrogen (N)0.3%

🍌

Food Waste (Organic)

Carbon (C)48%

Oxygen (O)37%

Hydrogen (H)6.4%

Nitrogen (N)2.6%

🛍️

Plastic (HDPE/PET)

Carbon (C)85%

Hydrogen (H)14%

Oxygen (O)~1%

Chlorine (Cl) PVC~0.5%

🥫

Steel / Tin Can

Iron (Fe)98%

Carbon (C)0.8%

Manganese (Mn)0.5%

Tin (Sn) coating~0.3%

🍶

Glass Bottle

Oxygen (O)53%

Silicon (Si)32%

Sodium (Na)8%

Calcium (Ca)4%

🌿

Yard Waste

Carbon (C)46%

Oxygen (O)36%

Hydrogen (H)6%

Nitrogen (N)3%

🧴

Rubber / Textiles

Carbon (C)69%

Oxygen (O)17%

Hydrogen (H)8.7%

Sulfur (S)1.6%

🏗️

Concrete / C&D Debris

Oxygen (O)44%

Calcium (Ca)33%

Silicon (Si)21%

Aluminum (Al)2%

🥤

Aluminum Can

Aluminum (Al)97%

Magnesium (Mg)1.5%

Silicon (Si)0.6%

Iron (Fe)0.4%

③ Special Feedstock Streams

Industrial & Residual Feedstock — Elemental Profiles

🛞

End-of-Life Tires (ELTs)

~300M ELTs/yr in USA · ~1 billion globally

⚠ HAZARDOUS IF LANDFILLED

Carbon (rubber)

78%

Hydrogen

Sulfur (vulcanization)

1.5%

Iron (steel belts)

15%

Zinc (activator)

1–2%

⚠️ 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.

🔥

WTE Bottom & Fly Ash

Waste-to-Energy combustion residue · ~25% of input mass remains as ash

⚠ REGULATED RESIDUAL

Calcium (CaO, CaCO₃)

25%

Silicon (silicates)

12%

Iron (metal residues)

Aluminum

Chlorine (salts, dioxin precursor)

⚡ 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.

⚫

Coal Combustion Ash (CCA)

Fly ash, bottom ash, flue gas desulfurization gypsum · ~130M tons/yr US

◆ COMPLEX MATRIX

Silicon (aluminosilicates)

45–55%

Aluminum (oxides)

25%

Iron (magnetite)

10%

Calcium

Unburnt carbon (LOI)

1–6%

🏗️ 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.

💧

Wastewater Treatment Sludge

Biosolids (Class A/B) · ~8M dry tons/yr produced in USA

✦ NUTRIENT RESOURCE

Carbon (organics)

35%

Oxygen

20%

Nitrogen (protein, NH₄)

5–7%

Phosphorus (struvite)

2–4%

Iron (coagulants)

🌱 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.

♻️

Contaminated Recycling Stream

Wish-cycling, food residue, mixed plastics · ~25% contamination rate in US curbside

⚠ DIVERTED TO LANDFILL

Carbon (paper, food, plastic)

42%

Oxygen

28%

Aluminum (cans, foil)

Iron (steel cans)

2.5%

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 Feedstock Stream

💎

Critical
Materials

The Hidden Mine — REEs & Precious Metals in the Feedstock Stream

Manufacturing feedstock streams contain economically significant concentrations of rare earth elements, platinum group metals, and critical minerals. Urban mining — recovering these from waste-classified materials — is becoming a strategic supply-chain priority globally as primary REE deposits are geopolitically constrained.

📱 E-Waste — electronics, batteries, displays

Au Gold

0.3–0.4 g/kg

PCBs, connectors

Ag Silver

1–3 g/kg

Solder, contacts

Nd Neodymium

~300 ppm

Hard drives, speakers

Dy Dysprosium

~50 ppm

NdFeB magnets

In Indium

~10–70 ppm

LCD screens (ITO)

Co Cobalt

~1,000 ppm

Li-ion batteries

💧 Wastewater Sludge — biosolids, digester cake

Au Gold

0.4–0.5 ppm

Jewelry, electronics

Ag Silver

2–20 ppm

Photo, antimicrobial

Pt Platinum

0.1–1 ppm

Catalytic converters

La Lanthanum

~50 ppm

Catalysts, optics

Ce Cerium

~80 ppm

Polishing compounds

P Phosphorus

2–4%

Struvite recovery

⚫ Coal Fly Ash — largest unconventional REE deposit

La Lanthanum

~100 ppm

Total REE ~400–600 ppm

Ce Cerium

~150 ppm

Highest individual REE

Nd Neodymium

~80 ppm

Critical for magnets

Sc Scandium

~30 ppm

Al alloys, aerospace

Ga Gallium

~30–50 ppm

Semiconductors (GaAs)

Ge Germanium

~5–15 ppm

Fiber optics, IR lenses

💰 Estimated Urban Mining Value — $ per Tonne of Feedstock Stream (processed)

📱 E-Waste (mixed)

$3,000–15,000+

🔋 Li-ion Batteries

$2,000–8,000

🛞 Tire Pyrolysis

$400–700

🔥 WTE Bottom Ash

$60–200

💧 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

43.7%

Carbon

31.5%

Oxygen

6.1%

Hydrogen

3.0%

Silicon

3.1%

Calcium

1.9%

Nitrogen

1.3%

Iron

1.1%

Aluminum

1.0%

Potassium

0.5%

Sulfur

0.5%

Chlorine

0.8%

Phosphorus

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

🌐 Baseline

43.7% —

🇺🇸 N. America

48% +4.3pp

🌎 Latin America

46% +2.3pp

🇮🇳 South Asia

45% +1.3pp

🇪🇺 Europe

44% +0.3pp

🌍 Sub-Saharan

43% −0.7pp

🇨🇳 East Asia

36% −7.7pp

⚠️ 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).

Sources: World Bank What a Waste 2.0 (2018) · EPA WARM Model · ISWA Global Waste Management Outlook · Tchobanoglous et al. Integrated Solid Waste Management · ASTM E1534
REE data: USGS Critical Minerals Report · DOE Strategic and Critical Materials 2023 · UNEP Global E-Waste Monitor 2024 · Coal ash REE: NETL/DOE Feasibility Studies
All elemental values are representative estimates on a dry weight basis. Baseline = unweighted average of 6 regional profiles.

Element	Symbol	Concentration (PPM)	Annual Recovery per 100 TPD Factory
Gold	Au	0.2 PPM	7.3 kg
Silver	Ag	2 PPM	73 kg
Platinum	Pt	0.05 PPM	1.8 kg
Palladium	Pd	0.05 PPM	1.8 kg
Neodymium	Nd	0.1 PPM	3.7 kg

1,000 kg of feedstock.
1,000 kg of manufactured output.

One metric ton of manufacturing feedstock.

100+ manufactured materials.