An information system for sustainable materials management with material flow accounting and waste input–output analysis

Abstract

Sustainable materials management focuses on the dynamics of materials in economic and environmental activities to optimize material use efficiency and reduce environmental impact. A preliminary web-based information system is thus developed to analyze the issues of resource consumption and waste generation, enabling countries to manage resources and wastes from a life cycle perspective. This pioneering system features a four-layer framework that integrates information on physical flows and economic activities with material flow accounting and waste input–output table analysis. Within this framework, several applications were developed for different waste and resource management stakeholders. The hierarchical and interactive dashboards allow convenient overview of economy-wide material accounts, waste streams, and secondary resource circulation. Furthermore, the system can trace material flows through associated production supply chain and consumption activities. Integrated with economic models; this system can predict the possible overloading on the current waste management facility capacities and provide decision support for designing strategies to approach resource sustainability. The limitations of current system are specified for directing further enhancement of functionalities.

Keywords

• Sustainable materials management
• Environmental information system
• Material flow indicators
• Supply chain management