Putting the "stone" back in capstone: concrete solutions for reducing mineral aggregate consumption in Ontario.

A number of environmental problems occur from the extraction, processing, distribution, and disposal of mineral aggregates. While aggregates are essential inputs into the construction of buildings and roads, regions that use more aggregates per capita will have more significant deleterious environmental impacts than regions that use less. This study investigates potential causes of the above average per capita use of mineral aggregates in Ontario. To discern broad factors influencing aggregates use for Canada as a whole, a panel regression on six provinces for the years 1987-2003 was undertaken. A case study contrasts aggregates use in Ontario from Quebec and British Columbia to uncover some specific ways in which Ontario differs from other provinces. The results suggest that Ontario could reduce its use to levels found elsewhere in Canada without compromising economic activity, and concludes with an analysis of policy options aimed at reducing the use of mineral aggregates in Ontario.