Material Resources Strategy - the history

The economy relies on the movement and use of physical materials. They collectively make up our possessions and environment, all of which originally came from the earth.  Concerns have been expressed for some time both globally and locally about the sustainability of our current approach which focuses almost solely on digging minerals and dealing with ‘end of pipe’ waste management problems. Rather than just ensuring that the need for minerals and waste management is met, we need to focus on the broader issue of the good management of material resources.

The challenge at a global level is about breaking the link between natural resource consumption and economic growth.  It is estimated that between a four and ten times improvement in efficiency and productivity is required to achieve this goal.  Recent studies suggest each person in the South East needs an area equivalent to to ten football pitches to support their current lifestyle.  

Good management of natural resources and improving resource productivity is central to achieving wider sustainable development goals.  This will involve implementing more sustainable design, production, management and consumption so as to reduce the need for primary raw materials and reduce the amount of waste being disposed.