Reusing Nonhazardous Industrial Waste Across Business Clusters

Definitions and trends related to nonhazardous industrial wastes (NHIW) such as foundry sand and paper mill sludge are discussed in this chapter. The sheer quantity of NHIW raises questions of how best to manage it as materials are most often handled directly by companies. A critical strategy discussed in this chapter is reuse of nonhazardous materials within industrial clusters such that one company’s waste can become another company’s raw material. The idea of creating economic and environmental benefits through interfirm waste exchange has taken on the name “industrial symbiosis” and 13 industrial symbiosis clusters are identified and analyzed. In total, 199 examples of industrial waste sharing grouped into 10 categories are drawn and documented from these 13 multifirm symbiotic clusters involving 19 different industry sectors. For each type of waste sharing, industry sectors are categorized as “generators” and “users” to clarify whether they are suppliers of a particular by-product or are customers for its reuse. The five waste categories with the most activity as generators or users occur in these sectors: chemical waste, metallic waste, ash, organic waste, and sludge. In addition to 199 instances of solid waste materials, 82 utility sharing linkages were also observed involving power plants, water and wastewater, residual steam, and energy.