Cycling residues. Potential for increased transportation demands due to recycling of materials in Sweden

Abstract

Abstract This paper discusses in general terms the potential risk that increased recycling of materials in the technosphere may lead to significant changes in freight transportation demands. Such cyclic, as opposed to linear, material flows are proposed as one step towards an environmentally sustainable use of resources. Total volume of transported annual material flows in Sweden are estimated in order to provide a background for the analysis of transport demands: • Raw material 210 Mton • Products 165 Mton • Residues from production 20 Mton • Residues from consumption 10 Mton The difference in volume between raw material and products is explained by foreign trade, generation of residues and indefinite data. The difference in products compared to residues can primarily be explained by an increasing stock of materials in society, large pollution flows (e.g., CO 2 ), and that resources have a higher water content than residues. On a qualitative basis, it can be argued that a drastic increase of transportation demand can not be expected by increased recycling. A decrease of transported raw material is expected for some sectors, while only limited increase of residue transports. Furthermore, it should also be observed that the problem of residue/waste transportation is very small compared to the environmental impact of the total transportation sector. The main conclusion is therefore that the expected changes in transportation demand due to increased reuse and recycling, are not a general hindrance against introducing a more cyclic material management.