Econnections: waste production and consumption of materials and energy

Waste production and consumption of materials and energy

Much of the effort to reduce environmental impacts is directed at industry. Yet our daily lives - what we do, where we live and what we purchase - all affect the environment too. Recognizing this, Econnections offers a series of indicators linking household activity to the environment:

• Consumption of materials and energy
  • Water use per unit of household expenditure
  • Energy use per unit of household expenditure
• Waste production
  • Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of household expenditure

Indicators in both of these theme areas measure the resource use, or waste production, for an average $1 000 of household purchases. Two dimensions are captured:

• the impacts related directly to household activities, such as emissions from domestic furnaces; and
• the impacts from the productions of the commodities households consume, such as manufacturing wastes.

Did you know...

Although Canada produces only about two percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, we were the eighth largest emitters of carbon dioxide in 1997. Of the major industrialized nations, only the United States and Australia produced more carbon dioxide per person than Canada.