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Integration of the closed cycle and waste management into a sustainable resource-conserving substance management

Results of a research project

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) is pursuing the aim of integrating the closed cycle and waste management into a sustainable resource-conserving substance management in which substances are followed throughout the life cycle ranging from extraction from the environment to production, to use and consumption, and to collection and renewed use or release into the environment. The aim is to influence substance volumes and structures with a view to enhancing resource efficiency and de-linking waste production and economic growth.

Within the framework of the Federal Environment Ministry's environmental research plan, a "Literature and data survey for generating the basis for the development of closed cycle and waste management policy towards a sustainable substance flow and resources policy" was carried out to provide a basis for development of a relevant concept.

The final report from that project provides a comprehensive overview of relevant work carried out to date, identifies the main needs for further research and formulates suitable recommendations.

Main results of the project

• Only a small proportion of the national economy's substance flows can be traced directly to waste. Waste management thus cannot serve as the sole controlling organ for substance flow-oriented management spanning the entire economy; instead, waste management must be understood as part of a comprehensive substance flow-oriented system.
• To date, there is still no comprehensive overall concept for implementing substance-flow-oriented management in the area of waste management.
• Inter-sectoral substance flow-oriented management should be oriented primarily to substance inputs.
• In light of the complexity of substance flows and of relevant aims, a combination of different political instruments needs to be applied, including instruments such as regulatory law, economic incentives and duties, voluntary commitments, producer responsibility, etc.
• Important areas of action in the area of waste management in which substance flow-oriented analysis can play a significant role include: identification of future substance flows in the area of waste management; assessment of products and waste management operations with regard to ecological impacts, throughout entire life cycles; and development of waste prevention strategies.
• Areas of action in waste management in which substance flow-oriented management can play an important role include reduction of recycling costs in comparison to costs for landfilling / incineration; expansion of producer responsibility; and shifting the focus of waste management away from used products and to materials.

Recommendations The research project has identified requirements for further research, and it recommends an approach consisting of the following steps:
Step 1: Orientational screening to identify relevant substance flows
Step 2: Calibration with the identified relevance of the substance flows and with the previous addressing by closed cycle and waste management – with the aim of identifying the most important substance flows, with relevance for resources conservation, for which no measures, or inadequate measures, have been taken to date;
Step 3: Detailed studies of particularly interesting examples of substance flows;
Step 4: Issuing of a package of specific recommendations for sustainable substance-flow-oriented policy aimed at resources conservation and waste prevention relative to the selected substance flows.

The research has shown that the closed cycle and waste management policy, if oriented to substance flows, can contribute to ensuring that pollutants are removed and recyclable materials are used within closed cycles. Furthermore, the research has demonstrated that, with such an orientation, the closed cycle and waste management can be enhanced in terms of sustainability criteria.

More Information: Identification of Relevant Substances and Materials for a Substance Flow-Oriented, Resource-Conserving Waste Management - Results of a research project, as of June 2006