As players use extractors to harvest resources in Surviving Mars, they will generate Waste Rock in some quantity. After a while, this byproduct can prove to be quite troublesome, and indeed fans will want to address it before things get out of hand. Detailing some options for dealing with Surviving Mars's Waste Rock is the exact purpose of this guide, and players that read on will be able to keep their bases orderly and their drones free.
To get right to it, players that are looking to resolve their Waste Rock problem in this city building game should begin by establishing some Dumping Sites in the vicinity of the byproduct. These structures can be found under Storage, and each one that is placed can hold quite a lot of Waste Rock. While Dumping Sites do not provide a permanent solution to the issue at hand, they will at least offer a reprieve until fans gain the ability to transform Waste Rock into something more usable.
For those that are playing Surviving Mars without any of its DLC, that ability comes upon researching Waste Rock Liquefaction in the Engineering branch of the technology tree. Indeed, this tech gives players access to Waste Rock Processors in this game from publisher Paradox Interactive, which transform the byproduct into Concrete. Additionally, fans with the base game can select India as a sponsor to gain access to the Metals Refinery; a building that slowly turns Waste Rock into Metals.
While these two options for Waste Rock disposal will be sufficient for some players, there are a couple of alternatives for those that have Surviving Mars's DLC installed. More specifically, the Space Race DLC introduces Brazil as a sponsor, and its Rare Metals Refinery lets fans convert the byproduct into Rare Metals. The Green Planet DLC also features a way to deal with Waste Rock in its Carbonate Processor, which is unlocked through the Terraforming branch of the tech tree and uses the byproduct to improve the atmosphere.
To note, there are some mods that purport to provide additional Waste Rock solutions, such as Mega Waste Rock Storage and OBSOLETE Bottomless Waste Rock. However, these mods have not been tested recently, and thus it cannot be confirmed that they are currently in working order. That said, Surviving Mars players that are struggling to deal with all of their Waste Rock using the standard methods outlined above may still want to give them a try.
Surviving Mars is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
