A fundamental principle of sustainable materials management is to maximize the utility of materials to the greatest extent possible with disposal only as the last resort. Yet society has not yet fully embraced this fundamental principle. Between 1980 and 2002, collectively there was a 36% increase in global resource extraction; extraction of metals increased by 56% (Behrens et al., 2007). The US has consumed more resources in the past 50 years than in all previous history; it consumes 57% more materials than in 1975 and the vast majority of materials currently consumed are non-renewable (US EPA, 2009).