Reducing materials throughput

Of the billions of tonnes of raw materials displaced by human activity -- including fossil fuels, water, sand, gravel and rocks -- a substantial percentage is returned to the environment in a chemically degraded and/or mobilized form within a few weeks or months. Only a fraction (consisting largely of structural materials) is preserved in useful form for more than a year or two. The massive material translocations, including the emissions of toxic materials and greenhouse gases, are beginning to be reflected in economic terms, such as sharply rising insurance premiums for natural catastrophies.

1. The industrialized world must progressively reduce its material and energy throughput. There is no fixed relationship or magic between the total value of economic activity and material throughput. With little effort it is possible that a reduction of a least 50% of energy and materials throughput could be achieved without any appreciable reduction in economic indicators or living standards; if policy incentives are matched with the changes in industrial organization and practice and societal change, then it would be conceivable to achieve the goal of maintaining present levels of well-being with one tenth of the material input.

1. Conserving non-renewable resources
2. Increasing-Decreasing
3. Extending-Reducing
4. Designing for environment
5. Shifting from materials-intensive growth in developed countries

1. Reducing fossil fuel use
2. Increasing product longevity
3. Developing sufficiency policies on mineral resources

1. Increasing energy intensity

1. Using materials balance accounting
2. Using life-cycle analysis
3. Recovering product for local consumption
4. Introducing recycling deposit on durable goods
5. Introducing environmental taxes
6. Intensifying existing resource use
7. Increasing product use intensity
8. Creating waste recycling structures
9. Controlling consumption plans

1. Sustaining existing flow of materials

1. Waste of non-renewable resources

1. Well-made
2. Decreasing