Materials Matter

Toward a Sustainable Materials Policy

MIT Press

The products we purchase and use are assembled from a wide range of
naturally occurring and manufactured materials. But too often we create hazards for
the ecosystem and human health as we mine, process, distribute, use, and dispose of
these materials. Until recently, most research has focused on the waste end of
material cycles. This book argues that the safest and least costly point at which to
avoid environmental damage is when materials are first designed and selected for use
in industrial production.Materials Matter presents convincing evidence that we can
use fewer materials and eliminate the use of many toxic chemicals by focusing
directly on material (chemical) use when products are designed. It also shows how
manufacturers can save money by increasing the effectiveness of material use and
reducing the use of toxic chemicals. It advocates new directions for the material
sciences and government policies on materials. And it argues that manufacturers,
suppliers, and customers need to set more socially responsible policies for products
and services to achieve higher environmental and health goals.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Geiser, Ken

Weitere Mitwirkende

Commoner, Barry

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften

Über Autor(innen)

Geiser, Ken
Ken Geiser is Professor Emeritus of Work Environment at the University of
Massachusetts Lowell, Founder and past Codirector of the Lowell Center for
Sustainable Production, and the author of Materials Matter: Toward a
Sustainable Materials Policy. One of the authors of the Massachusetts
Toxics Use Reduction Act, he was Director of the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction
Institute for thirteen years.