The Thermodynamics and Economics of Waste

TL;DR

This paper explores the thermodynamic and economic aspects of waste, comparing human economic activities with natural ecologies in terms of entropy and complexity to better understand resource use and waste management.

Contribution

It provides an interdisciplinary analysis linking thermodynamics, economics, and ecology to deepen understanding of waste and resource efficiency.

Findings

Economic and ecological systems share entropy production characteristics

Waste management can be informed by thermodynamic principles

Human economies differ from natural ecologies in entropy and complexity

Abstract

Natural resource use and waste production, disposal, and reuse in human economies are treated in their economic, technological and thermodynamic aspects. The physical nature of economic production, consumption, saving, and waste is compared and contrasted with non-human ecologies in terms of entropy production and evolutionary complexity.