247
© The Author(s) 2016
R. Clift, A. Druckman (eds.), Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20571-7_12
Chapter 12
Material Flow Analysis and Waste
Management
Yuichi Moriguchi and Seiji Hashimoto
Abstract Material fl ow analysis (MFA, also known as Material Flow Accounting)
has become one of the basic tools in industrial ecology, since its pioneering development by Ayres. This chapter reviews progress in MFA with emphasis on the use
of MFA to support waste management and recycling policy.
Waste statistics are compiled in most developed and some developing countries,
but the basis is insuffi ciently standardized so that care is needed in making comparisons between countries. This also applies to recycling fl ows, which are diffi cult to
defi ne and quantify. Waste arising from demolition can be predicted by dynamic modeling which also predicts future resource demand, but the discrepancies between predicted and reported waste quantities can be large due to “missing” or “dissipated”
stock. Metals represent an important and valuable component of waste; metals in endof-life vehicles and e-waste in particular need to be quantifi ed for their recycling and
ecological and human health impact assessment. MFA has also been applied to international trade of secondhand products containing metals. MFA studies on phosphorus
have revealed potential ways to increase recovery that go beyond recycling from obvious wastes. Analysis of stocks must be an important topic in coming decades.
Policies designed to move the economy towards “circularity” have been promoted in some countries, including China and Japan, as practical manifestations of
the industrial ecology paradigm. In China, the link to MFA was only recognized
some years after the introduction of the policy, whereas in Japan MFA was accepted
from the outset.
Measures are being advocated, for example by the OECD, to improve the comparability of MFA across different data sources. Input-output analysis is increasingly applied to estimate and represent material fl ows. In general, MFA has matured
to the point where it is now mandated as a tool for national and international policy.
But further expansion and integration are expected.
Y. Moriguchi (*)
Department of Urban Engineering , The University of Tokyo ,
7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku , Tokyo 113-8656 , Japan
e-mail: yuichi@env.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
S. Hashimoto
Department of Environmental Systems Engineering , Ritsumeikan University ,
1-1-1 Noji-higashi, Kusatsu , Shiga 525-8577 , Japan
e-mail: shashimo@fc.ritsumei.ac.jp
© The Author(s) 2016
R. Clift, A. Druckman (eds.), Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20571-7_12
Chapter 12
Material Flow Analysis and Waste
Management
Yuichi Moriguchi and Seiji Hashimoto
Abstract Material fl ow analysis (MFA, also known as Material Flow Accounting)
has become one of the basic tools in industrial ecology, since its pioneering development by Ayres. This chapter reviews progress in MFA with emphasis on the use
of MFA to support waste management and recycling policy.
Waste statistics are compiled in most developed and some developing countries,
but the basis is insuffi ciently standardized so that care is needed in making comparisons between countries. This also applies to recycling fl ows, which are diffi cult to
defi ne and quantify. Waste arising from demolition can be predicted by dynamic modeling which also predicts future resource demand, but the discrepancies between predicted and reported waste quantities can be large due to “missing” or “dissipated”
stock. Metals represent an important and valuable component of waste; metals in endof-life vehicles and e-waste in particular need to be quantifi ed for their recycling and
ecological and human health impact assessment. MFA has also been applied to international trade of secondhand products containing metals. MFA studies on phosphorus
have revealed potential ways to increase recovery that go beyond recycling from obvious wastes. Analysis of stocks must be an important topic in coming decades.
Policies designed to move the economy towards “circularity” have been promoted in some countries, including China and Japan, as practical manifestations of
the industrial ecology paradigm. In China, the link to MFA was only recognized
some years after the introduction of the policy, whereas in Japan MFA was accepted
from the outset.
Measures are being advocated, for example by the OECD, to improve the comparability of MFA across different data sources. Input-output analysis is increasingly applied to estimate and represent material fl ows. In general, MFA has matured
to the point where it is now mandated as a tool for national and international policy.
But further expansion and integration are expected.
Y. Moriguchi (*)
Department of Urban Engineering , The University of Tokyo ,
7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku , Tokyo 113-8656 , Japan
e-mail: yuichi@env.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
S. Hashimoto
Department of Environmental Systems Engineering , Ritsumeikan University ,
1-1-1 Noji-higashi, Kusatsu , Shiga 525-8577 , Japan
e-mail: shashimo@fc.ritsumei.ac.jp