POLLUTION PREVENTION AT THE MACRO SCALE - FLOWS OF WASTES, INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY AND LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSES

Opportunities for pollution prevention can be identified from three distinct perspectives. Waste audits identify flow rates and compositions of materials that could be targets for pollution prevention. Life cycle analyses examine individual products, determining rates of waste generation, energy consumption and raw material usage. Studies in industrial ecology examine the uses and wastes associated with particular materials. This paper will review these three frameworks (waste audits, life cycle analyses, industrial ecology) for identifying pollution prevention opportunities. Each method has different strengths and weaknesses, but regardless of whether the focus is on wastes, products or materials, systematic evaluation of pollution prevention opportunities is a critical first step in minimizing environmental burdens.