Publication Summary

Ecology commissioned a consultant team to conduct research and develop recommendations to assist Ecology in updating the statewide plans for hazardous waste and solid waste management and in implementing the Beyond Waste goals. The consultant′s issue papers represent a starting point for Ecology′s efforts to reach the Beyond Waste vision. Numerous stakeholders have been engaged as Ecology develops the goals. The issue papers should be read as background to the process

Waste and Material Flows: This Paper presents an overview of the waste and material flows in Washington State. The consultants concluded that, it will be important to consider not only the quantities and types of waste but also the input of materials into the economy and the processes that transform them into the products and structures used in our daily lives. Accordingly, the consultant designed the materials flow framework (based on a model developed by the World Resources Institute) to help: • Identify particularly large or toxic material flows; • Determine gaps in Ecology′s current tracking systems; and • Design Beyond Waste strategies to reduce and eliminate wastes. In this first issue paper, the materials flow framework is used to characterize each of the major material and waste flows in Washington State. This information will enable Ecology to identify large or toxic material flows as well as gaps in current tracking systems, and will help guide design strategies for reducing and eliminating wastes.