Economy Economy Economic activites include energy production, transportation, material extraction, transformation and disposal. A simple taxonomy consists of four sectors can be used to conceptualize the relationship between material use, economic activities and environmental impacts. The leftover, unwanted materials become wastes and pollutant. However, 'Clean Production' are becoming popular recently. Secondary Sector Conversion of finished materials into manufactured products, such as fine chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics etc.
Less waste is generated here than the primary activities.
Since waste here are mostly intermediate materials, such as catalyst, solvent etc., clever engineering which minimizes dissipative losses and maximizes the use of finished materials can eliminate more waste. Tertiary Sector Generation of final services by consumer goods, such as transportation, communication, retail and wholesale sales etc. Waste from this sector are mostly comsumption-related such as fuel. Institutional rather than engineering innovations are needed to eliminate these wastes. This sector is comparatively waste-free.