Word of the month: Materials Economy

“Materials Economy is a system that consists of 5 levels, that of Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, and Disposal. According to Annie Leonard in her book The Story of Stuff, this type of linear system cannot sustain itself in a finite planet such as ours. As of 2007, at the rate of consumption we are going, we would need 4 planets to sustain us. There is only one Earth.

Already, 80% of the world’s forests are gone. 75% of the bodies of water are being fished at or beyond capacity. In the past three decades, 1/3 of the world’s natural resources have been used up. In the Amazon alone, 2000 trees are felled in a minute. In the United States, 40% of municipal garbage is paper products–the deaths of hundreds of thousands of trees gone to waste. The disturbing statistics go on and on.” Learn more here. 

As much as 70% of global GHG emissions are associated with the materials we make, use, and throw away? Otherwise known as the materials economy, which relates to extraction (mining), production (factories), distribution, transportation, etc…

Well-implemented zero waste strategies benefit societies in ways that go beyond their ability to curb the impacts of climate change: they improve many of the most fundamental ways in which society functions– through associated environmental, economic, social, and political and institutional benefits. These additional benefits include improving public health, reducing environmental pollution, incentivizing job creation, supporting community development, and addressing inequalities and societal injustices. Furthermore, waste solutions at the top of the waste hierarchy not only have the greatest additional benefits, but also score highest on emissions reductions. Learn more!