A Dynamic Analysis of Rain Gutters

Abstract

In this chapter a dynamic model is presented in order to study the impacts on M-P chains of various economic and policy developments aimed at reducing material use. In a dynamic analysis temporal issues can be taken into account. Dynamic processes that may be important in an M-P analysis are accumulation and delays. Accumulation of products and materials may occur in the economy: for example, for durable products there is a time-lag between the purchase and the disposal of the product. Delays may also occur between the invention and the adoption of that technology, and between the implementation and the effect of a policy. The dynamic model aims at tracing the effects of changes in material flows over time: for example, through substitution and recycling. It is used to simulate policy scenarios so as to assess their short- and long-term influence on the M-P chain. All these accumulative and delayed effects may not be adequately analysed in a static setting. The dynamic model will be applied to rain gutters.

This chapter is a slightly revised version of an article that appeared in Journal of Environmental Systems (Kandelaars, Opschoor and Van den Bergh, 1996).