%T Evidence Building for Waste Prevention: Understanding the Causal Influences that Result in Waste
%E Robert Eberlein
%E Ignacio J Martínez-Moyano
%A Rachel Freeman
%A Maria Angulo
%A Mike Yearworth
%A Tom Quested
%B Proceedings of the 31st International Conference of the System Dynamics Society
%D 2013
%I System Dynamics Society
%J 31st International Conference of the System Dynamics Society 2013
%L discovery10126997
%C Albany (New York)
%X Waste prevention can be viewed as a set of practices that reduce the amount of
waste generated in the economy; they can be undertaken during the design,
manufacture, distribution, use and disposal phases of the product lifecycle. A
research project funded by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Defra) applied systems methodologies to support development of
new waste prevention policy in England. The project developed a system
dynamics model designed to capture existing knowledge on the causal influences
that lead to waste generation. The model was developed firstly through several
group model building workshops with key experts and stakeholders which
produced a set of basic causal loop diagrams, and then through the development
of a comprehensive system dynamics model by an expert modelling team. The
key structure in the model is a materials flow map of materials and products
through the economy; the material flows are driven by the dynamics in seven submodels. Preliminary results from the project are presented in this paper. Policy
interventions referred to in this paper are solely for the purposes of explaining the
modelling approach and the views expressed are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect those of Defra.
%O This version is the author-accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.