Materials Metabolism Analysis of China's Highway Traffic System (HTS) for Promoting Circular Economy

With the rapid growth of highway mileage and vehicles, the Chinese highway traffic system (HTS) has become one of the great resource consumers. This article attempts to evaluate the material metabolism of China's HTS during 2001–2005 using the approach of material flow analysis (MFA) and to explore possible measures to promote circular economy throughout HTS. We measured a set of indicators to illustrate the whole material metabolism of China's HTS. The results indicated that the direct material input (DMI) of China's HTS increased from 1181.26 million tonnes (Mt) in 2001 to 1,874.57 Mt in 2005, and about 80% of DMI was accumulated in the system as infrastructure and vehicles. The domestic processed output (DPO) increased by 59.0% from 2001 to 2005. Carbon dioxide and solid waste accounted for 80.5% and 10.4% of DPO, respectively. The increase of resource consumption and pollutant emissions kept pace with the growth of transportation turnover. All these suggest that China's HTS still followed an extensive linear developing pattern with large resource consumption and heavy pollution emissions during the study period, which brought great challenges to the resources and the environment. Therefore, it's high time for China to implement a circular economy throughout the HTS by instituting resource and energy savings, by reducing emissions in the field of infrastructure construction and maintenance, by reducing vehicles’ energy and materials consumption, and by recycling waste materials.     

Dynamic Material Flow Analysis for Strategic Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Beijing

Of all materials extracted from the earth's crust, the construction sector uses 50%, producing huge amounts of construction and demolition waste (CDW). In Beijing, presently 35 million metric tons per year (megatonnes/year [Mt/yr]) of CDW are generated. This amount is expected to grow significantly when the first round of mass buildings erected in the 1990s starts to be demolished. In this study, a dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) is conducted for Beijing's urban housing system, with the demand for the stock of housing floor area taken as the driver. The subsequent effects on construction and demolition flows of housing floor area and the concurrent consumption and waste streams of concrete are investigated for Beijing from 1949 and projected through 2050. The per capita floor area (PCFA) is a key factor shaping the material stock of housing. Observations in Beijing, the Netherlands, and Norway indicate that PCFA has a strong correlation with the local gross domestic product (GDP). The lifetime of dwellings is one of the most important variables influencing future CDW generation. Three scenarios, representing the current trend extension, high GDP growth, and lengthening the lifetime of dwellings, are analyzed. The simulation results show that CDW will rise, unavoidably. A higher growth rate of GDP and the consequent PCFA will worsen the situation in the distant future. Prolonging the lifetime of dwellings can postpone the arrival of the peak CDW. From a systematic view, recycling is highly recommended for long‐term sustainable CDW management.     

Consumption‐based Material Flow Accounting

In 2007, imports accounted for approximately 34% of the material input (domestic extraction and imports) into the Austrian economy and almost 60% of the GDP stemmed from exports. Upstream material inputs into the production of traded goods, however, are not yet included in the standard framework of material flow accounting (MFA). We have reviewed different approaches accounting for these upstream material inputs, or raw material equivalents (RME), positioning them in a wider debate about consumption‐based perspectives in environmental accounting. For the period 1995–2007, we calculated annual RME of Austria's trade and consumption applying a hybrid approach. For exports and competitive imports, we used an environmentally extended input‐output model of the Austrian economy, based on annual supply and use tables and MFA data. For noncompetitive imports, coefficients for upstream material inputs were extracted from life cycle inventories. The RME of Austria's imports and exports were approximately three times larger than the trade flows themselves. In 2007, Austria's raw material consumption was 30 million tonnes or 15% higher than its domestic material consumption. We discuss the material composition of these flows and their temporal dynamics. Our results demonstrate the need for a consumption‐based perspective in MFA to provide robust indicators for dematerialization and resource efficiency analysis of open economies.     

Global Life Cycle Paper Flows,Recycling Metrics,and Material Efficiency

Despite major improvements in recycling over the last decades, the pulp and paper sector is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental pressures. Further reduction of virgin material requirements and environmental impacts requires a detailed understanding of the global material flows in paper production and consumption. This study constructs a Sankey diagram of global material flows in the paper life cycle, from primary inputs to end‐of‐life waste treatment, based on a review of publicly available data. It then analyzes potential improvements in material flows and discusses recycling and material efficiency metrics. The article argues that the use of the collection rate as a recycling metric does not directly stimulate avoidance of virgin inputs and associated impacts. An alternative metric compares paper for recycling (recovered paper) with total fibrous inputs and indicates that the current rate is at just over half of the technical potential. Material efficiency metrics are found to be more useful if they relate to the reuse potential of wastes. The material balance developed in this research provides a solid basis for further study of global sustainable production and consumption of paper. The conclusions on recycling and efficiency should be considered for improving environmental assessment and stimulating a shift toward resource efficiency and the circular economy.     

The Characteristics and Trends of Socioeconomic Metabolism in China

China has become the country with the largest resource use and has high levels of waste emissions that pose a great management challenge. To provide more details about environmental problems and to find effective solutions, this article analyzed the scale, structure, and trend of the socioeconomic metabolism in China during the period 1992–2014 based on economy‐wide material flow accounts (EW‐MFA), and predicted resource use during the period of the 13th Five‐Year Plan. The results of this study show that the scale of China's socioeconomic metabolism in China increased more than twofold, during 1992–2014. However, after 2011, with the economic slowdown, the growth rates of total material requirement (TMR), direct material input (DMI), and domestic processed output (DPO) began to decrease. China may reach an inflection point, but this point will probably not be approached before the year 2020. Material recycling (MR) has played an important role in improving resource productivity, improving it by 92.52 renminbi per tonne in 2014. Metallic minerals and fossil fuels are the main sources of hidden flow. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, construction waste, and agricultural emissions have become the major sources of DPO. Because of the 13th Five‐Year Plan, China may slow the growth rate of DMI and may save 10.26 gigatonnes of resources during 2015–2020. Resource productivity is predicted to increase by 15.91%. Imports and MR may play more important roles. These suggestions are made: (1) strengthening the recycling system; (2) stronger policies, especially in metallic mineral and fossil fuels; (3) developing management systems for CO₂ emissions, construction waste, and agricultural emissions; and (4) adjusting China's economic structure.     

Applying Fuzzy and Probabilistic Uncertainty Concepts to the Material Flow Analysis of Palladium in Austria

Material flow analysis (MFA) is a widely applied tool to investigate resource and recycling systems of metals and minerals. Owing to data limitations and restricted system understanding, MFA results are inherently uncertain. To demonstrate the systematic implementation of uncertainty analysis in MFA, two mathematical concepts for the quantification of uncertainties were applied to Austrian palladium (Pd) resource flows and evaluated: (1) uncertainty ranges expressed by fuzzy sets and (2) uncertainty ranges defined by normal distributions given as mean values and standard deviations. Whereas normal distributions represent the traditional approach for quantifying uncertainties in MFA, fuzzy sets may offer additional benefits in relation to uncertainty quantification in cases of scarce information. With respect to the Pd case study, the fuzzy representation of uncertain quantities is more consistent with the actual data availability in cases of incomplete databases, and fuzzy sets serve to highlight the effect of uncertainty on resource efficiency indicators derived from the MFA results. For both approaches, data reconciliation procedures offer the potential to reduce uncertainty and evaluate the plausibility of the model results. With respect to Pd resource management, improved formal collection of end‐of‐life (EOL) consumer products is identified as a key factor in increasing the recycling efficiency. In particular, the partial export of EOL vehicles represents a substantial loss of Pd from the Austrian resource system, whereas approximately 70% of the Pd in the EOL consumer products is recovered in waste management. In conclusion, systematic uncertainty analysis is an integral part of MFA required to provide robust decision support in resource management.     

Global Patterns and Trends for Non‐Metallic Minerals used for Construction

Despite accounting for almost 50% of global material use, nonmetallic minerals—mostly used for construction of buildings and infrastructure—are the material flow analysis (MFA) category with the highest uncertainty. The main reason for this is incomplete reporting in official national statistics because of ease of availability and the low per‐unit cost of these materials. However, the environmental burden associated with nonmetallic minerals, which include energy use for extraction and transport, land‐use change, and disposal of large amounts of construction demolition waste, call for a thorough understanding of the magnitude of nonmetallic mineral flows. Previous estimates for nonmetallic minerals have used simplistic assumptions. This study aims to increase the precision of nonmetallic mineral accounts at national and global level using consumption of bitumen, bricks, cement, and railways in combination with technical coefficients from the engineering literature to infer the actual yearly consumption of nonmetallic minerals. We estimate the extraction of nonmetallic minerals and provide uncertainty estimates for the new accounts as well as information about consumption by different sectors. Analyzing the evolution of consumption for seven world regions, we find that, in North America and Europe, the consumption of nonmetallic minerals over the past 40 years has followed the growth patterns of population, whereas for all other regions consumption has been closely related to gross domestic product (GDP). A more accurate account of global and country‐by‐country extraction of nonmetallic minerals may provide insights into supply shortages and inform waste management strategies for construction and demolition waste.     

物质流分析研究述评

物质流分析方法近年来在循环经济和可持续发展研究领域发展迅速。阐述了物质流分析的定义及其与自然生态系统物质流的区别,着重回顾了该研究方法的发展历程,阐明了物质流分析的主要观点、理论基础、研究思路及研究框架,详细阐译和对比分析了物质流分析的六大类指标及分析方法,并在物质流分析框架的基础上,建立循环经济及可持续发展的评价指标体系,并对物质流分析指标体系和方法学的研究意义及其在环境经济学中的地位进行了客观的评价,进而指出了物质流分析方法的不足之处。对物质流分析在不同层次的应用研究也进行了充分的阐述和分析。对物质流分析今后相关领域的进一步研究予以了讨论和展望。     

Combining Material Flow Analysis,Life Cycle Assessment,and Multiattribute Utility Theory

Three assessment methods, material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle analysis (LCA), and multiattribute utility theory (MAUT) are systematically combined for supporting the choice of best end‐of‐life scenarios for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste in a municipality of a developing country. MFA analyzes the material and energy balance of a firm, a region, or a nation, identifying the most relevant processes; LCA evaluates multiple environmental impacts of a product or a service from cradle to grave; and MAUT allows for inclusion of other aspects along with the ecological ones in the assessment. We first systematically coupled MFA and LCA by defining “the service offered by the total PET used during one year in the region” as the functional unit. Inventory and impacts were calculated by multiplying MFA flows with LCA impacts per kilogram. We used MAUT to include social and economic aspects in the assessment. To integrate the subjective point of view of stakeholders in the MAUT, we normalized the environmental, social, and economic variables with respect to the magnitude of overall impacts or benefits in the country. The results show large benefits for recycling scenarios from all points of view and also provide information about waste treatment optimization. The combination of the three assessment methods offers a powerful integrative assessment of impacts and benefits. Further research should focus on data collection methods to easily determine relevant material flows. LCA impact factors specific to Colombia should be developed, as well as more reliable social indicators.     

厦门市生态经济系统物质流分析

运用物质流分析(MFA)方法和STIRPAT模型,对1996～2007年厦门生态经济系统物质输入与输出进行分析,结果表明:(1)在不考虑水的情况下,物质输入与输出不断增加(年均增长率分别为11.48%、11.41%),但均小于GDP增长速度(15.94%),二者成正比;物质流增长集中表现在对金属、非金属矿物的需求及化石燃料燃烧废气、工业废气的排放.(2)用水量和废水排放量均不断增加,尤以生活污水排放量增长速度较快,加重了区域环境的压力.(3)物质输入与GDP、物质输出与GDP呈良好线性关系.厦门经济发展很大程度上依赖资源消耗.(4)单位GDP物质输入与输出均不断减小,表明资源利用率、处置率明显提高,区域逐步走向生态环境与社会经济的协调发展.(5)构建了厦门物质输入驱动机制的STIRPAT模型,得出人口数量、富裕程度、技术水平或经济结构每分别发生1%的变化,将引起输入量相应发生0.99%、0.98%、0.17%、0.31%的变化.提升技术水平和优化经济结构具有较大调控空间,将是厦门物质减量化战略的实施重点.     

Smart Labels for Waste and Resource Management

This article explores the potential of RFID (radio frequency identification device) for improving the current waste and resource management system in Switzerland. It presents the following three possible options for utilizing RFID tags to support waste management processes: "at source automation" (using a "smart" trash can), "end of pipe I" (combination of the current system with an additional separation of recyclables before incineration), and "end of pipe II" (replacement of the current recycling infrastructure by sorting at the incineration plant). These options tackle the waste and resource management chain during different processes (i.e., waste generation, waste separation, and treatment). Based on an MFA (material flow analysis), we performed a multicriteria assessment of these options with experts from the waste management sector.
The assessment of ten experts in the waste management field regarding the proposed options for batteries and electrical appliances showed that, from an ecological perspective, the implementation of RFID in waste management would be desirable and would lead to an improvement in the current recycling rate in Switzerland for the goods studied. From an economic perspective, new investments would be required in the range of 1 to 5 times the maintenance costs of the current separate collection system. From a social perspective, the utilization of RFID tags in the waste management process was ambiguous. In particular, the end of pipe II option would, on the one hand, significantly improve convenience for consumers. On the other hand, experts see privacy and, what is more, social responsibility as being under threat. The experts considered the ecological and social aspects to be more relevant than the economic ones, preferring the end of pipe I option over the other options and the status quo.     

Quality Evaluation of Steel,Aluminum, and Road Material Recycled from End‐of‐Life Urban Buildings in Japan in Terms of Total Material Requirement

In this study we introduce the concept of total material requirement (TMR) to quantify the quality of materials from end‐of‐life buildings. The TMRs for the recycling of materials (urban ore TMR [UO‐TMR]) from four types of Japanese buildings ( Japanese traditional wooden structure [ JTWS], wooden frame with walls structure [ WFS ], reinforced‐concrete structure [RCS], and steel‐based structure [SS]) have been estimated and the trade‐off between the increase in function of recycled materials such as steel made from scrap and the additional inputs of energy and materials required to create the increase in function were evaluated. Steel made from scrap, aluminum made from scrap, and road material are assumed to be recycled from steel products, aluminum products, and aggregate and cement concrete in the buildings, respectively. Case study analyses were carried out to determine the effect of recycling only aboveground materials compared to recycling both aboveground and subsurface materials. Also, the effect of varying the recycling rate of wooden demolition debris is determined. The UO‐TMRs of steel made from scrap range from 4.7 kilograms per kilogram (kg/kg) to 18.2 kg/kg. Urban tailings (unrecycled components) account for the greatest proportion of the UO‐TMR of steel made from scrap, and the next largest contributor is the recycling process. In the case of aluminum made from scrap, the UO‐TMRs range from 22 to 196 kg/kg, with the contribution of urban tailings generally dominant, and the second largest contributor being on‐site demolition and shredding. The UO‐TMRs of recycled road material range from 1.04 to 1.16 kg/kg and are similar for different recycling cases and types of buildings.     

Greening China's Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure in the Face of Rapid Development: Analysis Based on Material Stock and Flow through 2050

Wastewater treatment infrastructure (WWTI) construction in China has entered an accelerated stage of development in recent years as a result of rapid economic growth, urbanization, and the demand for improving water quality. As a result, a large amount of resources and materials will be allocated for the WWTI, and it is particularly important to find ways to reduce resource consumption effectively so that social dematerialization and sustainable development can be achieved. In this study, we employed the dynamic material flow model to estimate the material flows and stocks of WWTIs and the associated carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions through 2050, considering effects of a rise in water consumption, a longer lifetime, and an increased material recycling rate. Our results indicate that material consumption in WWTIs will increase rapidly through 2025 to meet the needs of the increased volume of discharged wastewater as well as to overcome the shortage of existing wastewater treatment plants. In contrast with the moderate effects of rise in water consumption, prolonging the lifetime will greatly reduce material consumption in WWTI construction during the period 2030–2050, and approximately 60% of the total material input will be saved in the medium‐lifetime scenario, compared with the short‐lifetime scenario. Material output and CO₂ emissions associated with WWTIs will be reduced by 87% and 37%, respectively, in the medium‐lifetime scenario, compared with the short‐lifetime scenario, under high‐water‐consumption growth. Our results highlight the great importance of pipeline construction and cement consumption in resource consumption associated with WWTI construction in China. Moreover, this study also examined the potential ways to reduce material consumption in WWTI construction in the context of the demand chain, the design, construction, operation and management, and demolition.     

Extending effectiveness to efficiency: Comparing energy and environmental assessment methods for a wet cooling tower

Improving the environmental performance and energy efficiency of cooling towers requires systematic evaluation. However, methodological challenges emerge when applying typical environmental assessment methods to cooling towers. Hence, this paper compares the methods, analyzes their strengths and weaknesses, and proposes adaptions for evaluating cooling towers. As a case study, we applied five methods for assessing the wet cooling system of the high-performance data center in Stuttgart. These are material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle inventory, life cycle assessment (LCA), exergy analysis, and life cycle exergy analysis (LCEA). The comparison highlights that the LCA provides the most comprehensive environmental evaluation of cooling systems by considering several environmental impact dimensions. In the case of the wet cooling tower, however, electricity and water consumption cause more than 97% of the environmental impacts in all considered impact categories. Therefore, MFA containing energy flows suffices in many cases. Using exergy efficiency is controversially debated because exergy destruction is part of the technical principle applied in cooling towers and, therefore, difficult to interpret. The LCEA appears inappropriate because construction and disposal barely affect the exergy balance and are associated with transiting exergy. The method comparison demonstrates the need for further methodological development, such as dynamic extensions or the efficiency definition of cooling towers. The paper highlights that the methodological needs depend on the specific application.     

A Probabilistic Dynamic Material Flow Analysis Model for Chinese Urban Housing Stock

The stock‐driven dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) model is one of the prevalent tools to investigate the evolution and related material metabolism of the building stock. There exists substantial uncertainty inherent to input parameters of the stock‐driven dynamic building stock MFA model, which has not been comprehensively evaluated yet. In this study, a probabilistic, stock‐driven dynamic MFA model is established and China's urban housing stock is selected as the empirical case. This probabilistic dynamic MFA model has the ability to depict the future evolution pathway of China's housing stock and capture uncertainties in its material stock, inflow, and outflow. By means of probabilistic methods, a detailed and transparent estimation of China's housing stock and its material metabolism behavior is presented. Under a scenario with a saturation level of the population, urbanization, and living space, the median value of the urban housing stock area, newly completed area, and demolished area would peak at around 49, 2.2, and 2.2 billion square meters, respectively. The corresponding material stock and flows are 79, 3.5, and 3.3 billion tonnes, respectively. Uncertainties regarding housing stock and its material stock and flows are non‐negligible. Relative uncertainties of the material stock and flows are above 50%. The uncertainty importance analysis demonstrates that the material intensity and the total population are major contributions to the uncertainty. Policy makers in the housing sector should consider the material efficiency as an essential policy to mitigate material flows of the urban building stock and to lower the risk of policy failures.     

基于物质流分析的废纸回收利用体系生态成本研究

废弃物回收利用在一定程度上对缓解资源和环境危机起到积极的作用,已经成为可持续发展的重要举措,但生产过程中消耗的资源、能源,排放的污染物同样也会对自然环境产生负面影响。为解决此问题,以废纸回收利用体系为例,基于物质流分析方法构建了生态成本核算模型,为废弃物回收利用体系优化提供基础。在对生态成本相关研究归纳总结的基础上,定义了生态成本的概念,界定了生态成本的研究内容,并分析基于物质流核算生态成本的可行性。生态成本是对生态负荷的价值化,主要分为资源耗减成本、污染产生和环境保护成本以及生态环境损害成本3部分。污染产生和环境保护成本可以通过将总成本按比例分配给正、负产品的方式求得,资源耗减成本和环境损害成本借助LIME方法核算,总生态成本是回收利用体系内部各项生态成本的总和。生态成本核算是评价生态负荷的重要手段,在废纸回收利用体系物质流动图的基础上,分析各生产流程生态成本的构成情况。提出的生态成本核算模型不仅适用于废纸回收利用体系,其他废弃物也同样适用。通过生态成本的核算,寻找到对生态环境影响较大的工序、流程,为废弃物回收利用体系经济与环境的双赢提供理论与实践指导。     

Material Flow and Spatial Data Analysis of the Petroleum Use to Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions in Northeast China

This study investigated the petroleum consumption and petroleum‐related CO₂ emissions (PCOEs) in Northeast China at city level using material flow analysis (MFA) and spatial data analysis (SDA). The petroleum flows for the year 2014 were plotted, and then the spatial patterns, weighted mean centers (WMCs), and spatial autocorrelations of petroleum consumption and PCOEs were calculated, respectively. It was found that Northeast China is a petroleum exploitation‐processing‐export region in China; the total input of petroleum flows comprised two parts—exploitation (about 60%) and import (about 40%). About one third of the total product oil supply flowed into other provinces. In the consumption process, the product oil was dominated by two sectors: the industry sector (45.5%) and the transportation sector (31%). The rate of PCOEs was 36.69 million tonnes in the waste discharge process. Meanwhile, the WMCs of the petroleum consumption and the PCOEs were located in the south of Northeast China. The location of the petroleum pipelines was the factor shown to determine the spatial patterns of petroleum consumption and PCOEs and the hotspots were distributed along the petroleum pipeline, especially in the Circum‐Bohai Sea regions. Economic development in these regions shows a positive dependence on petroleum consumption and generates larger PCOEs. The findings obtained in this study could provide important decision‐making support to low‐carbon development in Northeast China.     

Estimation of Waste Battery Generation and Analysis of the Waste Battery Recycling System in China

China produces and consumes a large amount of batteries annually, which leads to many waste batteries needing to be recycled. The collection and recycling system of primary, alkaline secondary, and lithium‐ion secondary batteries in China is particularly poor, and waste battery recycling enterprises generally sustain economic losses if they solely use waste batteries as raw materials. Increasing the profits of waste battery recycling systems is a key problem that needs to be considered. This article quantitatively analyzes waste battery generation in China by using annual sales data and probable lifetime distribution of various batteries. The results show that the rapid growth of battery usage has led to an increased generation of waste batteries and the percentage of different types of waste batteries is changing over time. In 2013, the total quantity of all waste batteries in the medium lifetime scenario reached 570 kilotons, of which primary, alkaline secondary, and lithium‐ion secondary waste batteries accounted for approximately 36%, 28%, and 35%, respectively. Based on a real‐world case study of a typical domestic waste battery recycling enterprise in China, material flow analysis and cost‐benefit analysis were conducted to study the development of the recycling process of comingled waste batteries. Through scenario analysis, we conclude that increasing the use of waste batteries as raw materials and the recycling of other materials that are less valuable reduces the profits of the waste battery recycling enterprise. Higher profits can be achieved by adding the production of high value‐added downstream products and government support. At the same time, the essential role of the government in developing a waste battery recycling system was identified. Finally, relevant suggestions are made for improvements in both the government and enterprise sectors.     

The Waste Input-Output Approach to Materials Flow Analysis

Abstract: A general analytical model of materials flow analysis (MFA) incorporating physical waste input-output is proposed that is fully consistent with the mass balance principle. Exploiting the triangular nature of the matrix of input coefficients, which is obtained by rearranging the ordering of sectors according to degrees of fabrication, the material composition matrix is derived, which gives the material composition of products. A formal mathematical definition of materials (or the objects, the flow of which is to be accounted for by MFA) is also introduced, which excludes the occurrence of double accounting in economy-wide MFAs involving diverse inputs. By using the model, monetary input-output (IO) tables can easily be converted into a physical material flow account (or physical input-output tables [PIOT]) of an arbitrary number of materials, and the material composition of a product can be decomposed into its input origin. The first point represents substantial saving in the otherwise prohibitive cost that is associated with independent compilation of PIOT. The proposed methodology is applied to Japanese IO data for the flow of 11 base metals and their scrap (available as e-supplement on the JIE Web site).     

Material flow analysis and material use efficiency of Brazil's mortar and concrete supply chain

Cementitious materials, mostly concrete and mortar, account for about one‐third of all materials extraction worldwide. Material flow data in this industry are still unsatisfactory, especially related to unused extraction materials, quarry wastes, and water consumption, aspects which usually are not included in environmental analysis studies. The aim of this study is to conduct a material flow analysis (MFA) of the Brazilian concrete and mortar supply chain to quantify material use efficiency (ME) and dematerialization potential. The MFA includes extraction, production, and construction stages for the following indicators: i) unused extraction; ii) quarry waste; iii) water consumption; iv) material wastage; v) raw material consumption; vi) energy carriers; and vii) atmospheric emissions. The results demonstrated that the primary raw material footprint is about 456 million metric tons (Mt) corresponding to a metabolic rate of 2.2 metric tons/capita (t/capita). After including unused extraction, quarry wastes, water consumption, and secondary materials this value increases to 4.1 t/capita corresponding to a total material consumption of 840 Mt. Concrete and mortar can be produced using two routes—mixing on site or industrial mixing. We conclude that the industrial scenario allows for dematerialization by about 8% for concrete and 24% for mortar, by mass; and the average material use efficiency is low, at about 53% for concrete and 34% for mortar.