Industrial Ecosystems Project
In the web of nature, there is no waste. One organism's byproduct is food for a neighboring organism. Local economies can mimic ecosystems from nature, however, currently this is a greatly underdeveloped. Promoting and developing these relationships can help meet the goals of both short-term cost cutting and long-term community sustainability.
Triangle J's Industrial Ecosystem Development Project was designed to help two groups of people.
- Business people who are looking for ways to cut costs and reduce the use and disposal of natural resources by their businesses.
- People working to create more sustainable communities by identifying ways to turn wastes into useful products to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases in the air, pollution in the water, and trash in the landfill.
The Industrial Ecosystem Development Project developed a survey form and gathered data from 182 industries and institutions in a six-county region (Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee, Orange, & Wake) regarding the byproducts they had that might be usable by somebody else and the products they used that might be supplied by another facility's byproducts. This data was entered into a Geographic Information System and used to identify potential partnerships for the reuse of materials, water, and energy. The project played the role of matchmaker or facilitator in bringing together potential partners. During a one-year period, possible new partnerships were identified for 48% of the facilities participating in the project.
During the period June 1997 through May 1999, the project was funded primarily by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The project subsequently received funding from the NC Division of Energy to work intensely with several existing and planned industrial parks to promote byproduct exchanges. The Industrial Ecosystem Development Project Report reviews the work done on this project during this period.
This program is currently inactive.
