Flows and stocks of the material within a system can be quantified with the help of material flow analysis. Knowledge and understanding of the inputs, accumulations, transformations and outputs of the materials within a system facilitate resource management, environmental sustainability and policy-making.

MFA analysis enables to predict future trends based on past trends to regulate resource consumption and waste generation and simulate alternative scenarios by modifying consumption behaviour or introducing new technologies. A system in MFA includes a set of material flows process or transport or transformation and stocks or materials expressed in mass, within a system boundary such as a private household, municipal or factory, defined in space and time.

For example, product lifecycle analysis and the information on quantities of materials required to manufacture a mobile phone, wastages during manufacturing, disposal and recycling can aid decision-making to minimise waste and improve recyclability.

Whether it is the production of steel or the flow of natural resources such as water, electricity or waste generated in the urban area, material flow analysis effectively tracks and assesses the resources being used, recycled and wasted. For example, urban planning can use MFA to track the consumption of water across different sectors such as residential and industrial, sources of water such as surface or groundwater and outputs such as sewage and evaporation. Material Flow Analysis (MFA) is effective in reducing material usage that have harmful environmental and human health effects. 

MFA magnifies the sustainability of the flow of materials in terms of the environmental burden it creates. MFA is applicable in multiple disciplines including chemistry, economics, resource and environmental management, waste management, policy evaluations and policy decisions. MFA can be applied in combination with other tools to air complex and strategic decisions.

MFA contributes to resource efficiency by identifying inefficiencies and extent of resource depletion, pollution or waste generation. For instance, Aluminium can be extracted, processed and refined from the bauxite ore that can be used to manufacture aluminium metal and other various products. Some of the materials can be recycled back into the system. MFA allows to assess and identify the flow of material from raw bauxite extraction to the production and recycling stages. Efficiency can be assessed, impact on the environment can be evaluated and valuable data be generated to enable policy development.