Waste to Profit (W2P) Collaboration Opportunities
The Partnership for Industrial Ecology held an
exploratory meeting on April 12, 2007, hosted by Scotts Miracle-Gro at
the company's headquarters in Marysville, Ohio. The purpose of the
meeting was to discuss how companies and other groups in the Ohio
region could collaborate on converting waste streams into byproducts, a
practice that is often called "byproduct synergy". The participants
included over 60 representatives from Ohio companies large and small,
public agencies, and non-profit organizations.
It is well known that waste can be converted to profit; for example, electric utilities routinely sell fly ash to concrete producers as a substitute for cement. But finding and exploiting W2P opportunities requires collaboration among waste generators and potential waste purchasers. The US Business Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD) has demonstrated repeatedly how clusters of companies from different industries can achieve improved efficiency, profitability, and environmental protection by systematically identifying and leveraging byproduct synergies. Likewise, the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) is developing a network of eco-industrial parks in Columbus that will transform mixed solid wastes into valuable commodities.
The meeting consisted of a series of presentations
(below) followed by a facilitated group discussion. The Center for
Resilience has compiled the results and is working with SWACO, USBCSD,
and other participants to establish a regional W2P initiative.
Presentations
Recycling and Recovery of Waste Materials (pdf)
Rich Martinez, Chief Environmental Officer
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
W2P Meeting Objectives (ppt)
Joseph Fiksel, Co-Director
Center for Resilience
The Ohio State University
Waste to Profit (ppt)
Thomas Webb, Director, Land, Environmental & Remediation Services
American Electric Power
Trash to Treasure: Central Ohio Resource Transformation Center (ppt)
Mike Long, Executive Director
Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio
The New Industrial Revolution (ppt)
Andrew Mangan, Executive Director
US Business Council for Sustainable Development