Material flows

What are material flows?

In order to keep its economy going, Flanders extracts raw materials fromthe environment all over the world. The economical sectors in Flanders convert partof the raw materials in products for export. The other part is transformed intoproducts and services for own consumption by households in Flanders.

Impact for health and environment

Both the extraction of raw materials and their use in production- and consumptionprocesses have an impact on the environment. The exploitation may deteriorate thelocal environment and may lead to the depletion of scarce resources. Moreover theenvironmental quality will deteriorate since sooner of later, in Flanders or abroad,raw materials will end up as waste or emissions into the air, water or soil.

Figure: Material flows set in motion by the economy of a region(click on the figure to enlarge it)

enlarged figure Material flows set in motion by the economy of a region
TMR: total material requirement, DMI: direct material input, W&E: waste &emissions, DMC: domestic material consumption
Source: Matthews et al. (2000) The Weight of Nations: Material outflowsfrom industrial economies, World Resource Institute, Washington