Turning waste into new resources in small and medium sized enterprises

Turning waste into new resources in small and medium sized enterprises (SME). During a three years period (2015-2018) a project involving SME's, was carried out in corporation of six Danish municipalities, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Symbiosis Center Denmark. The project was financed by EU. The project focused on industrial symbioses, optimizing resources and/or potential waist minimalization. Initially 107 SME's where screened for their potential to join the project. Of these 52 SME's were offered a technical development plan and 42 SME's were offered a green development plan. The outcome of the project showed following potential savings: • Energy: 36.222 GJ/year • Materials: 10.416 tons/year • Water: 20.935 tons/year • CO2 emission savings: 4.908 ton/year This corresponds to 1 million euro saved. If all the proposed solutions are implemented, it will result in at least 24 new jobs in the participating SME's. Putting resource efficiency and industrial symbiosis on the agenda of small and medium-sized enterprises showed that sustainable growth can be achieved. It requires companies that are ready to think differently and are open to new ways of doing business.