Waste of non-renewable resources

Non-renewable resources are materials contained in the biosphere and the earth's crust which cannot be re-created in a human time scale. They include fossil fuels, minerals, fossil groundwater and animal species. Non-renewable resources can be used only once. They are either consumed in the process or undergo irreversible change into a different form.

It is currently estimated that 75 to 80% of non-renewable resources used in the industrialized world are wasted, that is their consumption is unnecessary, inefficient or could be substituted by a renewable resource.