Mind Over Matter

Businesses, governments, and consumers are finding ways to profit and prosper while simultaneously slashing their use of wood, metal, stone, plastic, and other materials, according to this study from the Worldwatch Institute. Citing the “unparalleled waste that characterizes this materially unique century,” the 60-page study, published in 1998, chronicles the growing movement toward dematerialization. That movement includes initiatives by a variety of governments and business groups, and efforts by individual companies to dramatically reduce waste and material throughput. But not all gains are as beneficial as they might seem, says Worldwatch. For example, while today’s beer or soda cans weigh 30% less than they did 20 years ago, they replaced an environmentally superior product — refillable bottles. Radial tires are 25% lighter and last twice as long as bias-ply tires, but are more difficult to retread, thereby reducing reuse. The report describes how to “remake” the material world, which it says will require “a rethinking of the structure and purpose of modern economies.”

The report is $5 ppd from WWI and can be purchased and downloaded online.