Looking Beyond Waste Management: How is Materials Management Different?
The U.S. EPA released a report in 2009 focused on sustainable materials management, titled "Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead." The report suggests a roadmap for the future based on materials management – an idea that emerged from the EPA's 2020 Vision, published in 2002. The 2020 Vision specifically suggested that society must shift its focus away from waste management and toward a more "life-cycle' view of materials management. Using less materials, reducing toxins, and recovering more of the materials we use in order to become more sustainable and competitive.
The idea is that we cannot be competitive in the world unless we can become sustainable in our use of materials (not just waste).
Waste Management: The Complete Cycle, Re-Framed
In order to meet current EPA compliance, industry and business are obligated to disposes of waste material and pollutants. Under the current guidelines, therefore, companies tend to view waste management strictly through the end-disposal process.
However, waste products are really only one part of the complete materials life-cycle. For industry and institutions to become more sustainable and competitive, we must look further into how raw materials are extracted, manufactured, and disposed of.
To summarize the differences between Waste Management and Materials Management:
| Materials Management | Waste Management |
|---|---|
| Attempts to find the most productive use or resources | Attempts to only minimize or manage waste and pollutants |
| Focuses on all of the policies and impacts that a particular material or product has | Waste management focuses solely on how to dispose of waste once it's generated |
| Examines inputs and outputs from and to the environment | Looks at outputs—how the final product affects air, land, or water |
| Focused on long-term sustainability | Focused on environmental impacts |
| Deals with all of the parties involved in the life cycle of a material or product | Deals with those who generate waste |
Life-Cycle Materials Management & Zero Waste
The EPA refers to the entire materials management process—from raw material extraction to waste disposal—"Life-Cycle Materials Management." The concept is closely related, if not nearly identical, to Zero Waste which encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused and any trash sent to landfills is minimal.
Zero Waste, Life-Cycle Materials Management, Sustainable Resource Management… whatever you call it, the concept remains significant for industries and institutions for a variety of reasons.
- First, by developing ways to better sustain natural resource availability, the U.S. will be more competitive in the world economy.
- Second, enterprises will realize cost savings when they take a life-cycle approach to all of the products they source, use, and dispose of.
Developing a Sustainable Framework
The EPA report challenges industry and government to develop a materials management strategy—a Life-Cycle approach—and recommends the following:
- Examine the whole cycle, from raw product to waste materials. The first recommendation is to promote efforts to manage materials from a life-cycle basis. In other words, think of the whole picture, and not just the final disposal methods.
- Policy. The second recommendation is for government to include programs and integrate material management approaches into existing government programs.
- Dialogue. The third recommendation is to accelerate the debate and integrate life-cycle management into public dialogue. In other words, make the public aware of the issues so that they can hold business and industry accountable.
How Will You Build Materials Management into Your Environmental Strategy?
Do you view waste management strictly through the end result—dealing with disposal? Or, do you consider the whole process—from raw material extraction, to usage and disposal—in your waste management strategy? Do you want to learn how to better manage your process? Would you like to develop a life-cycle approach but just aren't sure where to start?
At WasteStrategies, we look at the comprehensive picture as part of our Zero Waste approach to waste and materials management. We'll work closely with you to develop a program that examines the source of your materials, all the way through to disposal, to help you meet the existing and emerging EPA guidelines along with your own environmental initiatives. In the process, you'll be helping conserve finite resources, and you'll benefit from cost savings and efficiencies along the way.
Let's discuss your agenda. Request a Consultation >>
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