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industrial symbiosis

Resource matching to enable unused materials/resources from one business become a feedstock for another organisation

Artwork for Circular Economy Podcast ep 147

147 Dr Alexandra Leeper: smarter ways to create value

Dr Alexandra Leeper is the CEO of the Iceland Ocean Cluster and is passionate about the sustainable use of ocean resources. She’s working as a scientist intrapreneur in the blue and circular economies, drawing on diverse experiences from working all over the world in universities, consultancies, and at sea.
Alexandra has a background in marine resources and completed an industrial doctorate in aquaculture and circular economy in 2021. Her work focuses on sustainable value creation, positive impact in the blue economy and supporting the development of ocean clusters around the world.
The Iceland Ocean Cluster is at the center of maritime innovation in Iceland, with a mission to create value by connecting together entrepreneurs, businesses and knowledge in the blue economy.
They describe their flagship project, 100% Fish, as an ‘incredible fishy value machine’. 100% Fish is all about inspiring the seafood and fish sectors to utilize more of each fish, increase the value of each fish landed, support new business opportunities, increase employment and most importantly decrease waste. It’s incredibly successful – since the 1990s, the utilization of fishery by-products has increased 30-fold, the export value per kilogram of fish has risen by a factor of 4 and a wide array of different products have been developed.
Alexandra explains how that works in practice, and how it’s sparked a movement around the world, with other Ocean Clusters using the same approach to come up with their own incredible value machines, and create value for their local blue economies.

111 Sara Howard: symbiotic circular ceramics

How might we design and make ceramics in a circular economy? Ceramic products make our lives better in all kinds of ways. Some have been around for centuries (think bricks, tiles, pottery), and some are much more modern, in microchips and more.
To help us learn about circular ceramics, we’re going to meet Sara Howard, a very impressive and award-winning ceramic designer and materials researcher, whose practice is focussed on reducing the environmental and societal impacts of ceramic production.
Sara graduated from Central St. Martins in 2020, with a BA Honours Degree in Ceramic Design. In her final year, Sara designed an industrial symbiosis around the ceramics industry, in which waste from one industry replaces the raw materials in ceramic production.
Sara wrote a book, Circular Ceramics, to openly share her methods and processes and help fellow ceramicists to adopt these sustainable processes in their own practices.
On top of that, since graduating just 3 years ago, Sara has created two groundbreaking projects, collaborating with ceramic producers, artists and other industries to implement the use of industrial waste on a larger scale. Sara tells us how she’s set up a project for ceramics made with excavation waste from construction sites, and is launching a circular tableware startup in Bali, complete with its own factory.
We’ll also find out about the key problems with modern ceramic production and why making new ceramics from ceramic waste is pretty much impossible.

Circular Economy Podcast - Ep 79 Jordi Ferre – creating value from wine waste

79 Jordi Ferre – creating value from wine waste

You may be surprised to learn that, Instead of becoming waste for landfill, grape skins and other unused parts of grapes from the wine-making process can then go on to create important ingredients to support healthy living, which are used in supplements, foods and beverages.

Alvinesa Natural Ingredients based in Spain, is a “circular economy” leader of sustainable plant-based ingredients. New Chief Executive Jordi Ferre is leading the expansion of Alvinesa’s plant-based ingredients into the global food and nutrition markets. Jordi is an accomplished C-suite business leader who brings a strong commercial and operations background in the food sector, covering B2C as well as value-added food ingredients and agritech.

Circular Economy Podcast Episode 8 Elaine Kerr Industrial Symbiosis

Episode 8 Elaine Kerr – industrial symbiosis

Elaine Kerr, Deputy Director of International Synergies Northern Ireland talks about industrial symbiosis and how it ‘oils the wheels’ of the circular economy. Elaine explains what industrial symbiosis is, and how International Synergies provides research and facilitation for ‘resource matching’, helping organisations of all types and sizes.
We discuss the multiple benefits of industrial symbiosis: reducing waste and pollution (and associated costs); creating valuable new by-products, jobs, and social value; together with securing access to future resources by setting up local ‘ecosystems’ for materials.
Creating new, local feedstocks from redundant resources can also bring widespread benefits for the local economy, helping improve economic prosperity and resilience. We talk about changing attitudes and the ways young entrepreneurs and social enterprises are creating value from what we used to think of as ‘waste’.