Because industrial parks are not closed systems, it is important to support effective community, regional or state waste exchange programs. This may require some organizational innovations to develop a high level of materials reuse.
A US EPA report on waste or resource exchanges lists 53 state or regional networks involved in facilitating trade of industrial by-products. They publish, in print and/or electronic form, lists of materials available.
US EPA has also formed the National Materials Exchange Network, an electronic on-line service making information from 42 of these state exchanges available nationally’.
Many of these exchanges serve primarily as passive suppliers of information. Some also act to develop markets for specific wastes, connect potential buyers to suppliers, and provide training or technical assistance in recycling. Most are limited by their non-profit status, relatively low budget and small staff’.
Two possible options for creating effective means for facilitating the exchange of surplus resources are brokers and investment recovery services. (See Gertler’, for a detailed discussion of the role of brokers and value-adding networks in industrial ecosystems.)