The characterization of technological zinc cycles R.B. Gordon a , T.E. Graedel a,b, *, M. Bertram b,c , K. Fuse b , R. Lifset b , H. Rechberger b,d , S. Spatari b a Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA b Center for Industrial Ecology, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA c Department of Industrial Sustainability, Institute of Technology Cottbus, Cottbus, Germany d ETH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Chair of Resource and Waste Management, CH 8093 Zurich, Switzerland Received 25 July 2002; accepted 15 November 2002 Abstract A comprehensive accounting of the anthropogenic mobilization of zinc must treat a series of life stages: mining and processing, fabrication, utilization, and end of life. Reservoirs in which zinc resides include the lithosphere, ore and ingot processing facilities, at least a dozen major uses, several intentional and default stockpiles, landfills, and the environment. The flow rates among those reservoirs constitute the technological cycle. If a non-global cycle is being constructed, imports to and exports from the region of interest must also be included. In this paper we discuss generic approaches to the acquisition and evaluation of data for each of the components of anthropogenic zinc cycles over space and time. Data quality and data utility are evaluated, noting that information relevant to technology and resource policy is easier to acquire than is information relevant to human health and ecosystem concerns, partly because the spatial scale required by the latter is considerably smaller and the flow rates rarely analyzed and reported. Despite considerable data limitations, we conclude that information is sufficiently available and accurate to permit reasonably quantitative zinc cycles to be characterized at a variety of spatial scales. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mining; Fabrication; Waste management; Recycling * Corresponding author. Tel.:  /1-203-432-9733; fax:  /1-203-432-5556. E-mail address: thomas.graedel@yale.edu (T.E. Graedel). Resources, Conservation and Recycling 39 (2003) 107  /135 www.elsevier.com/locate/resconrec 0921-3449/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0921-3449(02)00166-0