Industrial Ecology and Industrial Production: Concepts and
Applications
Donald I. LyonsDepartment of GeographyUniversity of North Texas
Confronting the “efficiency” of U.S. production and consumption
93% of the materials extracted never end up in saleable products
80% of products are discarded after a single use
90% of the original materials used in the production of, or contained within, the goods made in the U.S. become waste within six weeks
For every 100 pounds of product we manufacture in the U.S. we create at least 3200 pounds of waste
(Cohen-Rosenthal, 2004)
Alternative modes of production
a new paradigm for capitalist production that
Minimizes environmental impacts from extraction, production and disposal
While retaining the essential driving mechanism of capitalism, i.e., profit
Industrial Ecology
an industrial ecosystem mimics the material efficiency of natural ecosystemsVia the optimal circulation of materials and energy
Substituting virgin materials with used materials and products (i.e., wastes) during production processes
• Extraction is minimized• Waste is minimized• Material use is maximized
Closing the loop on materials/products =minimizing the damage to the environment
Industrial Ecology Operates at Three Levels
d e s ig n fo r en v iro n m e ntp o llu tio n p re ven tion
e co -e ffic ie n cy"g ree n " a cco u n ting
F irm L e ve l
In d u s tria l sym b io s ism a te ria l c yc ling
life cyc le a n a lys isin d u s tria l se cto r in it ia t ives
A c ro ss F irm s
e n e rg y bu d g ets an d cyc lesm a te ria ls an d en e rg y f lo w s
in d u stria l m e tab o lism
R e g ion a l/G lo b a l
In d u stria l E co lo gy
From: Chertow, 2004
Material cycling
conversion of products and materials from initial use to another use:
either as a functional whole or component (remanufacturing)
As material (recycling)
Energy catalyst (waste treatment)
Two basic models in the literature
Evidence of success among primary processing industries
Pipe-to-pipe transfers
But can it work where wastes are varied and diffuse
Some evidence of networks of recycling firms in Stryia and the Ruhr
Self organizing networks of firms
Material cycling
Homogeneous wastes
Kalundborg, Denmark Industrial Symbiosis of Kalundborg DenmarkIndustrial Symbiosis of Kalundborg Denmark
Liquid Fertilizer Production
StatoilRefinery
Energy E2 PowerStation
Novo Nordisk/ Novozymes A/SPharmaceuticals
Farms
LakeTissø
Cement;roads
Fishfarming
Gyproc Nordic EastWall-board
Plant
Water
Water
Water
Sludge(treated)
Heat
ScrubberSludge
Stea
m
Boile
rw
ater
Coo
ling
wat
er
Stea
m
Recovered nickel and vanadium
A-S SoilremH
otw
ater
Municipality ofKalundborg
District Heating
Wastewater Treatment Plant
Sulfur
Org
anic
re
sidu
es
Fly ash
Heat
Slud
ge
Gas (back up)
Yeastslurry
Was
tew
ater
Strategies for material cycling
Evidence of success among primary processing industries
Pipe-to-pipe engineering
wastes that are heterogeneous and spatially diffuse?
Some evidence of cooperation at the level of service provision
Eco-industrial parks
Geographic Scale
Homogeneous wastes
Heterogeneous Wastes
Characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity Widely dispersed
May need aggregation
Require minimum thresholds (i.e., minimum volume of input)
May need to be reconstituted
May be sold in different market segments
Highly sensitive to transport costs
Basic geographic questions
Where in the settlement hierarchy?
• Possible spatial scales?– Village—town—metropolitan area—region—country
What’s the spatial range of market hinterlands? • Possible spatial scales?
– individual plant—industrial park—corporation
– Town—metropolitan area—region—country
Cultural-economic context
What is the cultural-economic context within which material cycling can occur?
How would the firms communicate with each other?
Perception of the value of the firms within the local community?
How firms interact over spaceInput-output transactions
Uncertainties and fluctuations
Ways of communicating
Successful regions Unsuccessful regions
Extensive flows of knowledge and trust Limited flows of knowledge and trust
How firms are perceived in their
localities Supportive milieu leads to successful firms and regions
Business Public/business
Material Support:Local financial institutions (capital)
Government agencies (applied science)Other firms (knowledge, markets)
Cultural Support:Sense of worth and belongingDemand for RRWT products
How can we test some of these ideas?
Firms that currently engaged in:recycling
remanufacturing
waste treatment
are experts are profitably coordinating waste conversion from initial to another use
History of Recycling, remanufacturing and waste treatment firms
A viable scrap recycling industry has existed since the middle of the 19th century
56,061 recycling and remanufacturing firms in the US, employing over 1.1 million (Beck, Inc. 2001)
Over 2 million employees in 2001 (Andrews and Maurer, 2001)
A caution!
Not a panacea
Face technological, environmental and economic limitations
• Can substantially reduce the ultimate volume of waste
• Reduce demand for virgin raw materials
• Reduce costs of disposal
Research Design and Administration367 firms we identified from the State of Texas’ Commission on Environmental Quality’s Material Exchange Website
• A Material Exchange is essentially a business directory for firms or other entities dealing with wastes, recyclables and used goods
Modified Total Design Method (mail survey technique)• A technique developed by Dillman (1978, 2002)
• Response Rate:
– 367 questionnaires sent out
– 80 returned by U.S. Postal Service
– 17 had no physical location in Texas
– 103 were returned
– = response rate of 38 percent
Description of Recyclable Categories
Recycling 60% Main elements
Scrap metals 28% Iron, steel, aluminum etc
Diversionary 18% aluminum cans, paper, PET and HDPE bottles, and glass
Paper 5% Paper, all types
Niche 10% precious metals, oil, food, grease, construction fill
Remanufacturers 33%
Compost 12% Compost
Niche core 7% wood pallets, industrial reels, textiles, furniture
Electronic core 6% e.g., toner cartridges, printer ribbons
Plastic 5% garden decks, primary compounds
Paper 4% industrial packaging, paperboard, boxes
Waste treatment 7% Hazardous, non-hazardous industrial and municipal waste
Basic characteristics of the firms Recycling firms
• mostly small, Texas based, family owned, and old
Remanufacturers• Somewhat larger, mostly Texas owned, and young
Waste treatment firms • somewhat larger, more corporate and young
Overall, mostly small Texas based firms with a scattering of larger corporations
Position in the settlement hierarchy
Firms are found throughout the settlement hierarchy
Over ½ in the 4 large metro’s• (about 10% smaller proportion than total manufacturing)
Another ¼ in the 21 smaller metro’s (e.g., Lubbock)
• ( about 4% smaller proportion than total manufacturing)
Final ¼ in rural areas• (7% larger proportion than total manufacturing)
Spatial Range of Market hinterlands
3 types of hinterland structure
Locally clustered (compost, niche and electronic cores)• Local inputs exceed 75%; (commercial)• over 50% of outputs to local area (commercial)
Export oriented (scrap, diversionary, paper)• Local inputs exceed 75%; (municipal)• Less than 25% outputs to local area (primary markets, e.g., mills)
Multi-scale clustered (waste treatment, niche recycling)• similar levels of inputs and outputs • at local, regional and national levels; (markets vary)
Local perception of the firms
Most difficult issues:local negative perception
Convincing the local economic development community of their significance
Less difficult issues:Expansion capital available
Markets for outputs available
No perceived problems with unfair tax subsidies to virgin producers
How the firms interact with each other
Most serious problemsEnsuring the purity of inputsMaintaining a steady supplies of inputs
TechnologyNew technologies considered only moderately important for future growth
Knowledge flowsMost important flows are from interaction with customers (and somewhat from other firms) but not rated very highlyKnowledge flows from suppliers and trade magazines not important
Settlement hierarchy
Firms are located throughout the hierarchy
somewhat higher concentration (than manufacturing) at the lower end of the settlement hierarchy
Why?• Most are highly sensitive to transport costs
– limits the market areas of any individual firm allowing more firms to operate at lower levels of the hierarchy
• Unique pricing structure– Most firms receive their highest proportion of inputs free, thus allowing
them to operate at lower thresholds (volume)– and at lower levels of the hierarchy
Suggesting,
These firms are ubiquitous in the market place
But, the high proportion of free inputs • suggests they are somewhat marginal to the larger economy
Still, its encouraging that profitable cycling can take place at a variety of settlement scales
Market hinterlands
Firms are structured around three hinterland types
Although all firms had high levels of local input
Geography of outputs is more diverse
We cannot assign the spatial structure of cycling to any one spatial scale
• Nor can we conceive of cycling in terms of monolithic networks bounded in space or place with internal flows (e.g., the Kalundborg model)
The export group
The locally clustered group may be the “ideal type”.It is unlikely that the export oriented group could be structured similarly
• Dominant spatial economic logic is driven by the need to be close to their inputs—same as other primary processors (e.g., paper mills)
Their outputs flow to large integrated primary processing facilities • so, only the largest cycling flows are likely to influence their location
Even with the smaller mini-mills (e.g., steel) certain minimum volumes will be necessary
• Flows beyond input regions will always occur for this group
Local perception of the firms
Firms’ perception of negative attitudes At the very least, this is likely to slow the entry of new firms to the sector
Fewer problems with day-to-day operations
Modifying negative perceptions will require fundamental changes in the culture of capitalist consumption
• Greater emphasis on “function purchasing” as opposed to “product purchasing” may prove useful here
How the firms interact
Input purity and steady supply problems
This may make it more difficult for the types of communications necessary (high levels of trust and knowledge flows) for innovations and strong growth to emerge
3rd party quality standards would help to ensure purity • May also provide a framework within which higher levels of trust,
and knowledge flows may emerge
Conclusion 3: firm conventions (cont)
Limited importance of new technologies and the limited flows of information
Basic ingredients (e.g., need for problem solving) necessary for high rates of innovation are not present
Problem lies with the technologies and systems used in the design, production and use of products
These firms compete within production systems not designed to process their outputs.
Sustained innovation and growth?
The capacity for sustained innovation and economic growth can only occur when,
Business and society began to seriously ask how can we integrate cycling in the fundamental processes of production and consumption
This will provide:• opportunity to solve newly emerging problems
• And the development of new market niches
i.e., demand!
Sustained innovation and growth?
To some extent this has always occurred
Few of these firms are motivated by environmental concerns, the majority are motivated by profit
• And, ultimately, all who survive must be concerned by profit
At the same time, it is unlikely that they can become central players until we begin to think about fundamental changes in the way we produce and consume products.
Recycling Rates
Rates vary enormously and are difficult to estimate accurately since most non-hazardous waste is not accounted for by Government Agencies
Municipal Rates are about 30% • (But actual volume of waste continues to increase because we generate more waste every
year)
Rates by broad material category
Aluminum about 35-40 percent• 50% of post consumer aluminum is from cans
Iron about 64%• 95% for automobiles and construction beams• 84 % for appliances• 58 % for steel cans• 40 % for rebar and other materials
Recycling Rates (cont.)
Glass about 37%• (almost all is soda-lime-silica, special glass is not recycled due to
varying composition)
Plastics • Varies widely due to competition from virgin producers
– PET and HDPE about 22.5%– (soda and water containers, toys, plastic bags, detergent
bottles, milk bottles, plastic bags)– PVC, LDPE/LLDPE, PP, PS ABOUT 0.5% to 5.0%
Rubber about 4 percent
Paper• About 35%
Extraction Processing Manufacture Consumption Waste
Recycling RemanufactureTreatment
Central question: Examine RRWT firms to investigate ways to achieve greater degrees of material cycling within an Industrial Ecology context?
To begin to answer this question:
We will examine three dimensions of firm interaction:
Firm territorial economy
Firm conventions, and
The local cultural context within which firms operate
Research MethodologyFrom the results of a questionnaire survey of a set of RRWT firms in Texas, we frame the answer in three ways:
Analyze the territorial economy of input-output linkages to assess the extent to which they are constructed locally
Examine elements of the local cultural environment to see if it is conducive to success
Identify the nature of firm conventions to see if they are favorable toward innovation and economic growth
Territorial Economy of the firms
Inputs Processing Outputs
The spatial extent of this interaction constitutes the firms territorial economy and is analogous to the spatial manifestation of their industrial symbiosis potential
Firm Conventions
Most serious problemsEnsuring the purity of inputsMaintaining a steady supplies of inputs
TechnologyNew techniques considered only moderately important for future growth
Knowledge flowsMost important flows are from interaction with customers (and somewhat from other firms) but not rated very highlyKnowledge flows from suppliers and trade magazines not important
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