Industrial Symbiosis is about companies working together for mutual benefit. It is based on the principle that “one company’s waste is another company’s raw material”. Through collaboration companies can improve resource efficiency and competitiveness – saving money, growing sales and reducing impacts on the environment.

The National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) aims to promote and apply the use of industrial symbiosis within the UK. Our goal is to make it easier for businesses to work together to make better use of their resources, add value to waste streams and find cheaper and more environmentally friendly disposal options. What is more, this service is completely FREE of charge—we are funded by Defra through landfill tax payments.

NISP has been described as a "matchmaking service for wastes and resources". It works by putting companies with available wastes and resources in touch with other organisations that are looking for these materials. We can also facilitate business collaborations on issues such as sharing expertise, making better use of assets, partnering with logistics and warehousing, and so on.

NISP was launched as a national programme in 2005 and is growing fast with 8000+ member organisations across the UK. We have helped our members to:

• ·Achieve cost savings of £81 million
• ·Obtain additional sales of £104 million
• ·Invest £68 million in recycling and reprocessing equipment
• ·Divert 2.2 million tonnes from landfill
• ·Reduce CO2 emissions by 2.1 million tonnes
• ·Reduced water use by 2.5 billion litres
• ·Save 4.8 million tonnes of virgin materials

Contact:

Dr. Peter Shonfield

Project Officer

Tel: 0115 907 7169

Email: eastmidlands@nisp.org.uk

Web link: www.nisp.org.uk