Residual Waste Management: From Disposal to Resource
Match-making business by-products with potential users can be a profitable sustainable strategy for all involved.
August 2012
Such programs are emerging and finding their way into businesses communities around the country as a win-win proposition, operating under the age-old premise and adage that one person's trash may be another person's treasure.
Educating Business Leaders
Consider the case of Sustainable Ohio. This is a new nonprofit organization formed to promote and educate Ohio business leaders on sustainable business practices and dedicated to the concept of beneficial residuals management.
"We operate under the industrial ecology concept of Waste = Food = Value = Profit," says Michael Long, Secretary-Treasurer of Sustainable Ohio, and Network Leader of Ohio By-Product Synergy Network, which matches undervalued waste or by-product streams with potential users. "By business collaborating on the issues of turning their waste to value, it is possible not only for a single company but pairs or an entire network of companies to benefit greatly. When this happens the city, county, or region benefits incrementally. The more business practicing by-product synergy and implementing projects will lead to greater regional value."
Electronics recycling is another great example of how some companies can utilize IT assets disposed of by a company of greater means. "By properly handling IT asset disposition," says Arman Sadeghi, the founder of All Green Electronics Recycling, "three different parties can be winners - the company, the recycler, and the smaller company or less fortunate individuals who purchase the equipment at a reduced rate."
Sustainability Matchmakers
"Chambers and economic development authorities can be sustainability matchmakers if they are cognizant of what resources are available and what possibilities exist," says Dr. R. Paul Williamson, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Sustainable Systems of Colorado. "This can be a tall order for organizations that are comprised of community members who have to be very much focused on their own endeavors and may not have the inclination, ability, or time to learn about other genres. One economic authority that I worked with in Virginia found that a new tenant in its industrial park was going to have a great amount of wasted heat generated as a result of its production process. Viewing this as an opportunity, the authority successfully set out and found another complementary company that could use that excess heat in its production [process]."
A simple collaborative effort of this type offered so many benefits by simply acting collectively with different stakeholders in the business community, explains Williamson. " It saved cooling expenses, increased productivity, reduced operating costs, facilitated additional job creation, and benefited the overall working and living environment."
Project Announcements
Oldcastle APG Establishes Suffolk, Virginia, Manufacturing Complex
08/12/2022
Milwaukee Tool Opens West Bend, Wisconsin, Manufacturing Plant
08/12/2022
LP Building Solutions Expands Sagola Township, Michigan, Operations Complex
08/12/2022
WebstaurantStore Establishes Ellabell, Georgia, Distribution Hub
08/11/2022
Skilcraft Expands Boone County, Kentucky, Operations
08/11/2022
Producer Owned Beef Plans Amarillo, Texas, Processing Plant
08/11/2022
Most Read
-
In Focus: “Golden Age” of Spec Development
Q3 2022
-
Area Development’s 17th Annual Shovel Awards Recognize State and Local Economic Development Efforts — First Two Platinum Shovels Awarded
Q2 2022
-
The 2021 Top States for Doing Business Reflect Their Locational Advantages
Q3 2021
-
In Focus: Demand for Industrial Land Surges
Q2 2022
-
Explosive Growth of Life Sciences Sector Comes with Challenges
Q3 2022
-
36th Annual Corporate Survey: Executives Focus on Labor, Energy, Shipping Costs
Q1 2022
-
Using Robust Project Controls to Enhance Project Management
Q3 2022