Question

What goes into an economy?
resources
waste

Answer 1

An economy is a system that transforms inputs into outputs through production, exchange and consumption. If you want a compact checklist of “what goes into an economy” and what the system produces (including waste), here are the main elements:

1. Inputs / resources
- Natural resources: land, water, minerals, fossil fuels, timber, fisheries, soil, biodiversity, ecosystem services (pollination, water purification).
- Energy: electricity, oil, gas, renewable energy.
- Human resources: labor, skills, health, education, experience.
- Produced capital: factories, machines, buildings, transport, ICT infrastructure.
- Financial capital: savings, credit, investment, insurance.
- Knowledge and technology: R&D, patents, processes, organizational know‑how.
- Institutions and governance: laws, property rights, markets, regulatory agencies, social norms.
- Information and data: market information, consumer preferences, scientific data.

2. Processes / actors
- Firms and entrepreneurs who combine inputs to produce goods/services.
- Households who supply labor and consume.
- Government that taxes, spends, regulates and provides public goods.
- Financial sector that allocates capital.
- Supply chains and logistics that move resources and products.

3. Outputs
- Goods and services for consumption and investment (food, housing, healthcare, transport, software, etc.).
- Income and wealth (wages, profits, rents).
- Capital formation (new machines, infrastructure).
- Exports and imports (net trade).
- Public services and transfers.

4. Waste and negative outputs
- Material waste: manufacturing scrap, packaging, construction waste, municipal solid waste.
- Organic waste: food waste, agricultural residues, sewage.
- Hazardous waste: chemical, medical, electronic waste.
- Air emissions: CO2 and other greenhouse gases, NOx, SOx, particulates.
- Water pollution: effluents, runoff, nutrient loading.
- Thermal waste: waste heat from industry and power generation.
- Biodiversity loss and land degradation as longer‑term “ecological waste.”

5. Flows and balances to watch
- Resource extraction vs. regeneration (renewable vs. nonrenewable).
- Material throughput (how much material flows through the economy).
- Waste generation and disposal pathways: landfill, incineration, recycling, composting, discharge.
- Externalities and social costs not captured in prices (pollution, health impacts).

6. How waste is managed or reduced (policy & design responses)
- Reduce: efficiency, dematerialization, product redesign.
- Reuse and repair: extend product lifetimes.
- Recycle and recovery: circular economy models, material recovery.
- Treatment and safe disposal: wastewater treatment, hazardous waste handling.
- Regulatory tools: taxes, subsidies, extended producer responsibility, standards.
- Economic tools: carbon pricing, deposit‑refund systems, green procurement.

7. Metrics commonly used
- GDP and value added (economic output).
- Material footprint / Domestic Material Consumption.
- Circularity indicators (recycling rates, reused material share).
- Waste generation per capita.
- Carbon footprint / greenhouse gas emissions.
- Ecological or planetary boundaries indicators.

Short conclusion: an economy needs natural, human, physical and financial resources plus institutions and knowledge to function. Its outputs include goods, services and incomes — but also a stream of wastes and emissions. Moving toward sustainability means changing inputs, production processes and institutional rules so more value is retained and less waste and emissions are produced (circular economy, efficiency, better governance).