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Sustainable consumption and production

13. Resource use

Domestic Material Consumption and Gross Domestic Product, 1990 to 2008

13-1

13b

Domestic Material Consumption since:

1990

 Green 2003 Green

Stone, sand and gravel extraction

Construction output and extraction of construction materials, 1990 to 2008

13c

13d

Contextual indicator

  • Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) is the total mass of materials directly consumed by the economy (it excludes waste from manufacture of imported goods).

  • The economy (Gross Domestic Product) grew in real terms between 1990 and 2008, in contrast DMC was 18 per cent lower in 2008 than in 1990, having remained stable since 1993.

  • In 2008 DMC saw the largest recorded fall since 1981.   The fall in DMC mostly reflect decreases in the domestic extraction of minerals driven by a sharp fall in the extraction of crushed stones, sand and gravel as demand was impacted by the economic downturn.  Imports of minerals also fell in 2008.
  • Mineral extraction, primarily used for construction, accounted for 38 per cent of DMC in 2008. The level of construction mineral extraction decreased by 30 per cent between 1990 and 2008.
  • The amount of material extracted and the value of output (GVA) from the construction industry were closely linked until the late 1980s. However, since 1994 the two have diverged markedly, with output value increasing steadily whilst being less dependent on minerals extraction
  • For further information see ONS website:  www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=5326&More=Y

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Updated: 30 July 2010