IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v49y2006i2p159-190.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Material and money flows as a means for industry analysis of recycling schemes

Author

Listed:
  • Lang, Daniel J.
  • Binder, Claudia R.
  • Stauffacher, Michael
  • Ziegler, Christian
  • Schleiss, Konrad
  • Scholz, Roland W.

Abstract

In most industrialized countries the recycling of waste materials has increased considerably over the last few decades; however, through a focus on how to increase the amount of recycled waste, the economic nature of recycling has sometimes been neglected. This paper proposes an integrative industry analysis for recycling schemes based on material and money flows. The latter analysis facilitates integrating economic characteristics into considerations with respect to recycling schemes in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of their current status as well as their historical developments. Thereby, the analysis departs from the perspective of the entire recycling industry or branch. Such meso-economic considerations can support, on the one hand, regional authorities in deciding how a recycling scheme should be handled in order to approach the overall goal of sustainable regional waste management and, on the other hand, the respective recycling industry to develop effective improvement strategies in order to succeed in the increasingly competitive regional waste markets. The proposed approach is utilized in a case study for centralized separate bio-waste transformation in Canton Zurich, Switzerland, to show its feasibility as well as its potentials and shortcomings. In the case study two quasi-stationary material and money flow analyses were calculated, and the profitability and competitiveness of the recycling industry were analyzed. Additionally, major consumers’ requirements with regard to the solid transformation products were investigated in a questionnaire survey (N=102). The case study shows that the proposed methodological approach is appropriate for integrating economic considerations into a comprehensive analysis of a recycling industry and for deriving potential improvement strategies for this industry. For achieving robust decisions for regional material flow management, the approach contributes in three highly relevant ways: (i) it integrates different system perspectives (e.g., material flows, consumer requirements, and money flows), (ii) it examines waste management comprehensively (e.g., inclusion of different waste management options), and (iii) it is transparent for the responsible decision makers and the affected stakeholders.

Suggested Citation

  • Lang, Daniel J. & Binder, Claudia R. & Stauffacher, Michael & Ziegler, Christian & Schleiss, Konrad & Scholz, Roland W., 2006. "Material and money flows as a means for industry analysis of recycling schemes," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 159-190.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:49:y:2006:i:2:p:159-190
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2006.03.013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344906000590
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2006.03.013?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ayres, Robert U., 2004. "On the life cycle metaphor: where ecology and economics diverge," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 425-438, April.
    2. Peter Tucker & David Speirs, 2003. "Attitudes and Behavioural Change in Household Waste Management Behaviours," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 289-307.
    3. Baumgartner, Stefan & Winkler, Ralph, 2003. "Markets, technology and environmental regulation: price ambivalence of waste paper in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2-3), pages 183-195, December.
    4. Binder, Claudia & Bader, Hans-Peter & Scheidegger, Ruth & Baccini, Peter, 2001. "Dynamic models for managing durables using a stratified approach: the case of Tunja, Colombia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 191-207, August.
    5. Scott J. Callan & Janet M. Thomas, 2001. "Economies of Scale and Scope: A Cost Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Services," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 77(4), pages 548-560.
    6. Bouman, Mathijs & Heijungs, Reinout & van der Voet, Ester & van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M. & Huppes, Gjalt, 2000. "Material flows and economic models: an analytical comparison of SFA, LCA and partial equilibrium models," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 195-216, February.
    7. Binder, Claudia R. & Hofer, Christoph & Wiek, Arnim & Scholz, Roland W., 2004. "Transition towards improved regional wood flows by integrating material flux analysis and agent analysis: the case of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 1-17, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lang, Daniel J. & Binder, Claudia R. & Scholz, Roland W. & Schleiss, Konrad & Stäubli, Beat, 2006. "Impact factors and regulatory mechanisms for material flow management: Integrating stakeholder and scientific perspectives," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 101-132.
    2. Binder, Claudia R. & Mosler, Hans-Joachim, 2007. "Waste-resource flows of short-lived goods in households of Santiago de Cuba," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 265-283.
    3. Cheng, Shengkui & Xu, Zengrang & Su, Yun & Zhen, Lin, 2010. "Spatial and temporal flows of China's forest resources: Development of a framework for evaluating resource efficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1405-1415, May.
    4. Kronenberg, Jakub & Winkler, Ralph, 2009. "Wasted waste: An evolutionary perspective on industrial by-products," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 3026-3033, October.
    5. Courtonne, Jean-Yves & Alapetite, Julien & Longaretti, Pierre-Yves & Dupré, Denis & Prados, Emmanuel, 2015. "Downscaling material flow analysis: The case of the cereal supply chain in France," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 67-80.
    6. Jean-Yves Courtonne & Julien Alapetite & Pierre-Yves Longaretti & Denis Dupré & Emmanuel Prados, 2015. "Downscaling material flow analysis: the case of the cereals supply chain in France," Working Papers hal-01142357, HAL.
    7. Kimmich, Christian & Fischbacher, Urs, 2016. "Behavioral determinants of supply chain integration and coexistence," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 55-77.
    8. Germa Bel & Anton Costas, 2006. "Do Public Sector Reforms Get Rusty? Local Privatization in Spain," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24.
    9. Di Foggia, Giacomo & Beccarello, Massimo, 2021. "Drivers of municipal solid waste management cost based on cost models inherent to sorted and unsorted waste," SocArXiv s6q3m, Center for Open Science.
    10. Minihan, Erin S. & Wu, Ziping, 2011. "The Potential Economic and Environmental Costs of GHG Mitigation Measures for Cattle Sectors in Northern Ireland," 85th Annual Conference, April 18-20, 2011, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 108779, Agricultural Economics Society.
    11. Schwarz, Hans-Gunter, 2006. "Economic materials-product chain models: Current status, further development and an illustrative example," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 373-392, June.
    12. Elbert Dijkgraaf & Raymond Gradus, 2015. "Efficiency Effects of Unit-Based Pricing Systems and Institutional Choices of Waste Collection," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 61(4), pages 641-658, August.
    13. Korhonen, Jouni & Snakin, Juha-Pekka, 2005. "Analysing the evolution of industrial ecosystems: concepts and application," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 169-186, January.
    14. Beça, Pedro & Santos, Rui, 2010. "Measuring sustainable welfare: A new approach to the ISEW," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 810-819, February.
    15. Eva Mihaliková & Marcela Taušová & Katarína Čulková, 2022. "Public Expenses and Investment in Environmental Protection and Its Impact on Waste Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    16. repec:tur:wpapnw:9 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Rubí Medina-Mijangos & Luis Seguí-Amórtegui, 2020. "Research Trends in the Economic Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems: A Bibliometric Analysis from 1980 to 2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-20, October.
    18. Maria Assunta Barchiesi & Roberta Costa & Francesca Di Pillo, 2022. "The Link between the Compliance with Environmental Legislation on Separate Collection and the Municipal Solid Waste Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-13, May.
    19. McMillan, Colin A. & Moore, Michael R. & Keoleian, Gregory A. & Bulkley, Jonathan W., 2010. "Quantifying U.S. aluminum in-use stocks and their relationship with economic output," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 2606-2613, October.
    20. Wolf, Oliver & Pérez-Domínguez, Ignacio & Rueda-Cantuche, Jose M. & Tukker, Arnold & Kleijn, René & de Koning, Arjan & Bausch-Goldbohm, Sandra & Verheijden, Marieke, 2011. "Do healthy diets in Europe matter to the environment? A quantitative analysis," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 8-28, January.
    21. Kinnaman, Thomas C., 2014. "Determining the socially optimal recycling rate," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 5-10.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:49:y:2006:i:2:p:159-190. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.