When will it be that we have to mine our landfills? Earth’s minerals are finite in supply. For too many families, household trash is ”no deposit, no return, out of sight, out of mind.” Americans recycle 34 percent of the waste they create, according to the latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency (2016). And while the U.S. recycling rate has been increasing over time — it was a mere 6.2 percent 50 years ago — there is more waste being created than ever.

Americans generated 254 million tons of trash in 2016, which is about 4.4 pounds per person per day. Many European countries have developed more successful recycling programs, with Germany boasting the highest recycling rates at 63 percent. In the U.S., Vermont ranks highest. Wyoming is one of the lowest at 41st. Louisiana is 50th.

There are strategic metals that modern societies depend upon for security and their economies. According to Natalie Johnson at Emporia State University, in a study titled “Strategic Minerals of the United States,” the U.S. relies on other countries throughout the world for various elements, metals, and industrial minerals. A common definition of a strategic mineral is a mineral that would be needed to supply the military, industrial and essential civilian needs of the United States during a national emergency.

The total number of strategic minerals is 93. The U.S. depends heavily upon countries of the African continent. Good relations with world nations have never been more important. No modern nation is an island. The demand for strategic mineral commodities is increasing throughout the world because the population and the per capita consumption are increasing.

Concentrations of minerals were formed over long periods of time, sometimes millions of years. As continents shifted and formed, minerals separated out and some were buried deep. They are where they are and many are strategic. Locating them, negotiating with foreign governments to mine them or to obtain them at an affordable price is complex. Some governments are unstable or unfriendly and pose risks to every country’s economy.

An example of a mineral of international importance is molybdenum. There are 24 molybdenum mines in the world. It forms an alloy for hardening steel for tools and hundreds of other uses that require the hardest steel.

Sources for molybdenum occur in the USA, Norway, Sweden, China and Australia. The mine in Climax, Colorado, was once the world’s largest producer of molybdenum. It has produced the element almost continuously since 1915. Highest outputs were to fight World War I and World War II. Then the mine was the largest molybdenum mine in the world, and supplied three-fourths of the world’s supply. In World War II it was guarded with troops. Its three tailings ponds are squarely at the headwaters of three major rivers — the Arkansas, the Eagle,and Tenmile Creek. The latter is a major tributary of the Blue River. To protect the rivers from toxic waste the ponds will require maintenance long into the future.

The 17 rare earth elements are neighbors on the periodic table and are difficult and expensive to separate from impurities. Modern technology, especially electronics, has found hundreds of uses for these elements, such as hydrogen storage, camera lenses, nuclear batteries, lasers and fiber optics technology.

Another example of a rare earth metal is scandium, a silvery-white metal named for its original source. It is used in many popular consumer products, such as televisions and energy-saving lamps. Scandium strengthens metal compounds. Today its sources are Scandinavia and Madagascar.

China produces nearly 95 percent of the rare earth metals. It isn’t because the country has 95 percent of the deposits. China has a lower cost of production, mainly because of the low cost of labor, which attracts industries that require the metals. The motor of a Toyota Prius requires 2.2 pounds of neodymium, and China produces 95 percent of the metal.

For Earth’s people to share in the affluence of modern life that metals and rare earth metals bring, a spirit of cooperation and goodwill must prevail internationally. Wars and preparation for wars use vast amounts of metals. Although the uses of minerals are expanding, the supply is finite, making it imperative to keep them out of landfills. Without population control and efficient re-cycling programs, the supply will never catch up with our needs. Our affluence will not continue and will not be shared by the world.